Equal Ground
by Seraina
Summary: A new life was all that she wanted, away from those that would use her. He just wanted to keep the home that his father built for him. They formed the most unlikely alliance to stand against the rest of the world. Cannon, post The Search
1. The Temple of Second Chances

Her feet kept moving while her mind shut down. She didn't know how long she'd been drifting. She couldn't even recall how long it had been since the houses changed from wood and paper to mud and stone and the people's clothes had changed from red to green. Her own clothes were so worn, they were colorless; it was as if they betrayed her lack of a permanent home. She wondered if she could be considered a nomad, then dismissed the idea. That name was reserved for the dead.

She stopped to stare up at the thick patch of overgrown fruit trees and the mountain towering above. Beyond the wild orchard, she could see the new growth over the scars in the land caused by the movement and subsequent destruction of tanks. The tanks were long gone, probably scavenged by some refugees to sell for money or use as shelter. She moved past the battlefield and up towards the mountain path.

She'd heard about this road from an older woman in the closest village's market. It was a refugee path used during and shortly after the war, before those seeking a better life started flocking to the colonies. She sneered to herself as she thought of how quickly the entire world started to obsess about the silly republic. She had been through there last year; all she saw was a filthy city and smog from the factories. But that is what the simpletons that ran the nations call "progress."

After three days of walking she could see the towers of the Northern Air Temple. With her goal in sight she pushed onwards, telling herself that she could stop and rest soon. Her pursuers would not think to come here. In fact, after the war, the temple had lost half its population to return to their lost homes. And now that the focus of the entire world was on the new republic that the Avatar, Firelord Zuko and King Kuei were building the isolated air temple was all but forgotten. She had little fear of being recognized, and even so, the temple was not known to turn away refugees, no matter which side of the war they'd been on.

"Hello, welcome to the Northern Air Temple," said a young woman in red and yellow robes of the air acolytes. She sat behind the desk in the booth on the temple's side of the bridge.

"Has this become an Air Acolyte community?" she asked, wondering if her information was out of date.

"Oh, well no," the girl frowned for a brief moment and then recovered her sickeningly sweet smile. "I just live here as a representative of the new Air Nation. My name is Hei-Won. What's your name?" The Acolyte smiled, but her eyes were bored.

"Mai Lee," she said without hesitation. "I came from the colonies."

"We're getting some people in from there. Are you planning on staying or just a visit?" Fake sincerity coated her words like dust in a long vacant room.

"Staying, if that's possible." She was growing bored with the questioning and it was taking far too long for the Acolyte to finish writing out the forms.

"Alright Mai Lee, I have some forms for you to fill out and submit for job placement. Please return these to the employment office, which is on the first floor in the West wing." The girl pulled apart the papers she was writing on and handed Mai Lee a perfect copy. "I've assigned you a temporary room in the visitors dormitory. Once you find a job, you can apply for a more permanent residence."

"And I thought Ba Sing Se required a lot of paperwork," she found herself saying.

"I know, it seems quite a lot, but we have limited space here and simply expanding is difficult."

"I see. Thank you." Mai Lee bowed her head to the Acolyte and continued into the temple. It was much, much different than its counterparts. Instead of solemn dead husks of architecture, this place thrived with activity. Pulley systems brought up harvested wheat and sweet potatoes from the fields below. Several people on gliders flew through the air carrying messages from various parts of the temple. Pipes belched smoke periodically, but it was different than the factories of Yu Dao and the new republic. She looked down at her papers and tucked them into her robes. She would look at her room later. Now, she wanted to explore her new home, check for easy escape routes in case she was found.

The landing area was crowded with spectators, watching the large glider execute several loops and dips, racing around the mountain peaks with the ease of a hawk. She knew of the gliders and their inventor, The Mechanist. He was a prolific and mysterious figure towards the end of the war. When he defected to the Avatar's side, Fire Nation weapons innovation and production dropped significantly. Mai Lee watched the wheels of the largest glider touched the ground. This glider belonged to Teo, who was rumored to have taken over leadership from The Mechanist when the Avatar called the genius away to assist with the building of his republic utopia.

Three people came up behind the glider and lifted the glider wings off of the wheeled chair and took them to the storage shed where it looked like all of the gliders were stored. Teo sat in the monstrous wooden wheelchair that could only have been designed in the Earth Kingdom. The whole nation was obsessed with solid, heavy and unmovable objects, and so the wooden wheels made a loud sound on the paving stones of the courtyard. Mai Lee found herself staring as the young mayor (was that his title?) pushed his cart towards her.

"New arrival?" He smiled up at her, his eyes covered in octagonal green goggles.

"Yes. My name is Mai Lee," she met his gaze.

"Any special skills?" he asked off-handedly, gesturing for her to follow him as he made his way out of the wind.

"No. Not really," she remarked, adjusting the long strands of hair underneath that blew free of the scarf on her head.

"Any hobbies?" He asked again, his friendly demeanor seeming more genuine than the acolyte at the bridge.

"Lately, it's been walking." She studied his gaze. It did occur to her that she may have offended him, but she didn't like to censor her thoughts. She wondered if he was the stuffy type to be bitter, like the war-wounded soldiers she'd encountered in other Earth Kingdom cities.

"Yeah? I could never get into that. Shame really, I hear it's really popular with the ladies," he chuckled and pushed his chair forward. "You've arrived just in time for dinner."

"I don't have any money." She followed after him, watching his arms as they pushed through the crowd towards the dining hall.

"Don't worry about it. First night's meal is on me," he let his chair roll in a straight line and looked back at her. "Colonies?"

"How can you tell?" She kept her face neutral, still studying him.

"Your eyes and hair are Fire Nation traits. That and you look like you've been traveling for a long time. A lot of people from the colonies passed through here, though few have stayed." He was open and honest and completely like anyone she ever expected to lead a community such as this.

"What is it that you do around here?" She asked, even though she already knew.

He laughed again, "I'm the chief gliding instructor, the ambassador, acting head of the elder council and in my spare time, an engineer and inventor. So, I'd say a little of everything."

"You're a little young for the council of elders," she smirked down at him, easing into the flow of the conversation.

"It's a misleading name, I know. But in my father's absence, I got nominated," his cheerful demeanor slipped a fraction before he recovered. So there was more to him than charm and optimism.

"I see." She said, but refrained from commenting as he lead her through the line in the dining hall to get a hot meal for the first time in weeks.

Once they received their meals, Teo gestured for her to follow him out of the loud and overcrowded dining hall and into a narrow side hallway. He pulled out a ring of keys and opened a locked door. The room inside had a simple table and a few chairs that Teo pushed out of his way. "What brings you here, Mai Lee?"

"I don't like what is going on in the colonies. Things were fine the way they were until the Avatar started to interfere." She controlled herself and only started eating her meal when he did. She ate with the perfect manners that were drilled into her as a child.

"Why didn't you go to the Fire Nation?" He asked, his manners not perfect, but he was not a slob.

"I don't like what's going on there either," she replied and looked into his brown eyes. While she was looking down at her plate, he had removed the green tinted lenses that covered his eyes.

"There are some refugees here from both the Fire Nation and the Colonies, will that be a problem for you?"

"No," she held his gaze, "Not unless they have issue with me first." She resolved that she was never going to get captured again. She would not be anyone's tool. _Her_ voice started whispering in the back of Mai Lee's brain. The drifter clenched her hands into fists to try to ward off the unwanted chatter.

"That's good. Because I'd hate to have to turn you in, Princess Azula," he tossed out her true name as if she wore it openly on her forehead, though she could not detect any malice in his voice or expression.

Azula tensed, springing backwards out of her chair and fell into a defensive stance. _She_ must have told him. No, no… _Ursa_ does not talk to anyone else. _Ursa_ only has words for her daughter.

A click echoed around the small room as Teo aimed the metal barrel at her from under the table. She didn't recognize the weapon, but now that she thought about it, she could smell black powder. She expected no less from the Mechanist's son. "If you firebend at me, I will fire my new weapon at you. I'm sure that neither of us would enjoy it. Please, Princess, sit down." His hand was steady and his brown eyes met hers.

"Why? So you can claim the bounty on my head?" Azula snarled, not backing down as she calculated her exit strategy. Stupid stupid, she was so stupid for expecting to come here. Of course one of the Avatar's allies would recognize her. She remembered him now from the Western Air Temple, escaping on an airship with the Avatar's less important and nameless allies.

"We have no prison to hold you until either Zuko or King Kuei can be contacted for your retrieval. Besides, I don't think turning you in is my best interest anyway," he said, another click from the weapon and he set it on the table between them. It was a heavy looking object, the handle made of carved wood. It looked like a tiny handheld cannon.

"What do you mean, not in your best interest?" she relaxed slightly, as much as a caged animal can relax. She stalled for time, hushing Ursa's voice long enough to think. Though now that the weapon was out in the open, she was at least sixty percent confident that she could escape this room before he could grab the weapon again.

"My home is in danger and you can be my secret weapon," he said seriously, his face set in a grim line that made him seem years older. "You see, now that the war is over, and the Earth King lost so much land due to forming the republic, he's looking into forcing his influence on all the remaining somewhat independent places left in this country. Not to mention those sneaky Acolytes have been campaigning to restore the temple to its original form. Firelord Zuko has no stake in helping us. Avatar Aang would side with his Acolytes and King Kuei already weakened our position by making sure my father stays in Republic City."

Azula's mind thought over these new facts. "I see. So if you attract attention to yourself, that can force your enemies' hands." She straightened and folded her arms, looking down at her host again. She might have misread him on first impression.

"Exactly, so you get a new start and I get more time to fight having our home taken from us," he nodded, leaning back in his chair to gauge her reaction.

Azula smiled and leaned down, placing both hands on the table so that they were eye level. "Make me your assistant and you have access to the mind that toppled Ba Sing Se without violence." If he agreed, then her position here would be guaranteed and she could make sure that he would not turn her in. For the first time in years, she had control over her own life and could influence the most favorable outcome. Besides, if he fought her, she was sure she could easily get rid of him. Ursa was quiet again and Azula was pleased.

"Deal," he reached in the pouch that hung on the back of his chair and withdrew a pen, a bottle of ink and a blank scroll. He wrote quickly and then slid it towards her.

She looked down at Teo's neat script and penned her real name, agreeing to not turn her in as long as she refrains from hurting anyone and assisting him with keeping their home. The princess admired him for being intelligent enough not to trust a handshake deal alone. She put her mark under his and looked back at him.

His smile was friendly and far more optimistic than even Ty Lee's, but somehow she felt he was honest. "Now can we get back to our meal?"

She nodded and sat back down to finish her cold stew and bread.


	2. The Bedroom of a Stranger

Azula crossed her arms and watched the gliders flit about the mountain peaks, lifted by the warm air currents, then looked down at Teo. "I'm not doing this." She had only been at the temple for three days before Teo ambushed her at breakfast and drug her out to the glider deck.

"Come on, Mai Lee, it's fun!" a young woman said, holding out a glider.

"If you want to be my assistant, you have to experience life in the temple, and this is an important part of our lives here," Teo backed up his wheelchair then pushed himself forward; gaining speed on the slight downward slope that had been built up over the paving stones. Azula watched as he dipped, then rode the air currents upward to perform a quick loop.

If the man that can't walk is willing to defy gravity, then surely the princess of the Fire Nation can too. She flew under her own power during the passing of the comet, so this should not be too difficult. She ran five steps and pushed off the edge of the temple deck, holding her breath until the canvas and wood wing caught the air and bore her upwards. The glider was so fragile; a single snap of one of the thin rods or a tear in the canvas would send her plummeting to the mountainside.

"Breathe, you're fine, the air will support you!" Teo shouted at her as she clung to the glider bar, feeling helpless in the harness that held the false wings to her back. All she could think of was the injured turtleduck she found as a child, its wing shattered in the relatively short fall from a tree to the ground.

She conquered Bas Sing Se, she was Azula, her fire was blue, and she could fly this small craft. She's piloted war balloons and airships, or at least seen them flown. She was familiar with a number of the Mechanist's inventions, which is why this simple glider should not be so difficult.

The wind buffeted against the glider's wings and her hair blew into her face despite the

Panic rose as she passed through a patch of morning fog and her fingers slipped from the bar. Azula felt her body twisting in the harness that held her to the small craft as it started to descend in a rapid spiral. The former princess flailed to reach for the hold bar of the glider that was just out of reach. Her voice echoed across the mountaintops as she screamed.

Ursa's voice in her ear, telling her that it would be fine, just a moment sooner and she would be able to rest. Ozai told her that she was a failure. She could not even replicate the success of a mere cripple. ZuZu told her that he loved her, as he lorded his title over her. He could do anything he wanted; even bring their mother back from the dead. But that faceless wench was not real. Ursa had never left her.

The leather straps of the harness slammed into her chest as her momentum was partially halted; Azula forced herself to open her eyes. "I have you, do you trust me?" She could hear Teo shout over the sound in her head.

"Yes!" she feared he would drop her if she said she didn't, the ground was noting more than a shapeless expanse, the fields below looked like handkerchiefs strewn about. She could feel her mother's arms try to embrace her, pull her from this life and to the ground below.

"Pull your release!"

The release was a strong chord that would separate her from the glider wings. She did not feel safe now, but falling freely without the Mechanist's glider to buffer her fall? Surely this is all just a trick.

"Pull the release and spread out your arms and legs as far as you can."

He must be trying to collect the bounty. Taking her gliding and making it look like an accident. She is only vaguely aware of the glider spinning away from her as she separated from the canvas and wood. She spreads out her body on instinct, the very flammable glider is still to close to use flame. Azula saw Teo's glider come sideways at her and she tucked her limbs in not to get hit by the massive chair. For the second time, her body was jerked in another direction as a strong arm wraps around her. "You're fine, Azula, I've got you. I won't let you fall." Her heart slows and the voices inside her head threaten to overwhelm her. She claps her hands to her ears and curls into Teo, though she is only subconsciously aware that they are still in the air. It wasn't until they land on a small open balcony around the back of the temple that Azula becomes aware of herself.

She scrambled out of Teo's lap as soon as his wheels touched the ground.

"Are you okay?" Teo asked, concern and worry creeping into his voice. He turned and removed the glider wings from his chair and set them on the floor.

"You almost killed me," she said accusingly to hide the tremor in her voice.

"No. I didn't almost kill you. It was perfectly safe, until you panicked. I'm sorry I made you do it. I didn't realize you'd have a reaction like that," he stayed where he was, watching her edge back against the wall.

"You'd better not try it again or I'll make sure your legs aren't your only useless limbs," she threatened, trying to control her breathing once more. Azula could feel Ursa hovering over her, threaten to smother her with what the apparition calls love.

"I promise, I won't make you do that again," he sat still, waiting for her acknowledgement before he turned away.

Azula nodded and looked around the room they were in, noting the bed in the corner, the large desk that lacked a chair and the drawings tacked to the walls. "This is your room." It was not a question.

"I thought it'd be best if I brought you someplace private while you took a moment." His cheeks reddened and he did not turn back to look at her as he maneuvered the massive chair back towards the wide balcony.

"Good thinking." She willed her knees not to wobble as she moved over and sat on the bed. She could see Ursa's disapproving look out of the corner of her eye and made herself comfortable on the peasant's bed. It was softer than she expected it to be. Softer than the one in the room she slept in the night before.

Teo pulled a chord that hung along the wall and a heavy curtain was drawn across the open balcony. He then picked up a set of flint to light the stove in the corner.

Azula flicked her wrist and the stove lit, as well as the oil lamps that provided light in the room.

"Thanks. The Air Nomads loved their open spaces so much, it's like they never got cold. It's a little early in the season to turn on the furnaces." He turned a knob on the wall beside the stove and water came out of a pipe in the wall above his water basin. Azula was impressed; she had not seen indoor running water since she left the Asylum. Teo filled a teapot and set it on the stove.

"Is that your line then? Get a girl to go gliding, find a reason to save her and then bring her back to your room for a proper thank you?" She watched Teo fumble with the teacups.

He turned back to look at her, his face aghast. He closed his mouth and shook his head. "You're not the first person to have an accident while gliding, but I only brought you here instead of the doctor because of who you are. Wouldn't do anybody any good if you started firebending blue flames."

"I can bend orange fire too. It's a matter of heat," she said as he drug over a small table. Ursa urged her to get up and help him, but Azula stayed put.

"Makes sense." Once the table was in place, Teo took a tray and set it on his lap, setting the still hot kettle on the tray with the empty cups and brought it all over.

"Now what? Are we friends instead of conspirators?" Azula asked as Teo set up their tea.

"If you would like to be." He poured tea for them both. "Wouldn't it be better to have a friend than a business partner? Or whatever it is we are."

"I do not have friends, I have subjects," She picked up her teacup and sipped the scalding beverage.

"Why did you really come here?" he asked, holding his cup in both hands.

"Because it was forgotten. The Avatar and Zuko are concentrating on Republic City and that disastrous experiment. There are just enough people to become a face in a crowd, and I've never been here before, so there was less of a chance that I would be recognized," she tried to sound casual, but ended that statement in a glare towards her host.

"Yes, who knew that the cripple that escaped the Invasion of the Black Sun would be at the Western Air Temple when you decided to go kill your brother." Teo sipped his tea, ignoring the glare or not caring enough.

"So what is so good about this place that you made a deal with a monster such as myself to keep it? Sentimentality? If you were a loyal Earth Kingdom citizen, you would give up all you had at the whim of your leader. But you aren't loyal and the Earth King is a laughable fool at best. Why does he care what a bunch of children, do with an abandoned temple in the middle of the worst Agni-forsaken mountain range on the entire continent?" She finished her tea and placed the cup back on the table, still standing above him.

"First of all, we're not children," he started, looking anywhere but at her.

"You are. Most of the people I've seen so far are under the age of thirty. It is a young community."

"Fine, fine, have it your way." He put his palms flat on the armrests of his chair and pushed upwards, then re-seated himself. "Gas."

"Gas?" She could not control her facial expression she was so confused by his answer. "Gas? Why would anyone want that?"

He looked at her then and laughed and shook his head. "No, no, not the… not the person sort of gas. The natural kind. How familiar are you with the industrialization of the Earth Kingdom versus the Fire Nation?"

"I am aware that the war effort of the Fire Nation greatly enhanced the country's manufacturing capabilities that lead to many new inventions that can be used in the private sector. I know the Earth Kingdom is generally disorganized and lacks state programs to assist the lower and middle class," she sat back down on the bed, since there were no other chairs in Teo's room.

"In the Fire Nation, the main source of power is steam, correct? Coal as well?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"Yes. A factory built on a thermal vent can run forever. But thermal vents are not everywhere, so most factories use boilers tended to by firebenders. Even a child with weak firebending ability can go to work in one of the boilers in a large factory."

"Right. So there is no energy shortage in the Fire Nation. But in the Earth Kingdom, there are no thermal vents or a plethora of firebenders willing to work in factories. They mine coal to burn. But mining is dangerous and they don't produce nearly enough to go around. Add that to the fact that the largest mine was in the colonies," he gestured with his hands as he got around to his point.

"Kuei wanted the colonies back to get to the mines. I bet if Zuko knew this, he wouldn't have whined about it so long." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Now that the colonies are out of play, there isn't such an abundance of coal. That makes sense."

"There are gas pockets in these mountains, natural gas that will ignite as soon as a flame touches it and it will burn bright and hot for a long time. Thus if the Earth King can pipe that gas to a place where it can be processed and burned, he can bring power to many villages. The gas can even be bottled and transported, sold, taxed. He can do whatever he wants."

"I see, so why are those impostors the Acolytes after the temple?" Azula asked, suddenly much more interested in the conversation now that Teo has proven himself knowledgeable on how the world really works. Unlike Zuko and his silly friends, this man knew early on that nothing gets done on good faith alone.

"Well that's where it gets tricky…" Teo started but is interrupted by the sudden pounding on his door.

"TEO! You need to explain yourself!"

Teo seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to evaporate into the air. "It is Hei-Won," he whispered. "Give me a few minutes Hei-Won, I'm not dressed! I'll meet you down in the conference room in twenty minutes."

Azula could almost hear the Acolyte's blood rush to her face. Azula grinned wickedly. "Ohhh Teo, do you really have to go?" She purred loud enough so the visitor outside can hear.

They both heard sandals against the old stone of the hallway outside. A beat later, they both broke out into hysterics.

"Oh Mud and Sticks… I can't… believe you did that," Teo laughed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"What better way to establish my cover?" She grinned, pleased with this turn of events.

On the way to the conference room, Teo lets her push his chair.


	3. The Empty Bathhouse

Azula and Teo arrived in the conference room exactly twenty minutes after Hei-Won interrupted their conversation. They find the Acolyte pacing the room and the conference table stacked with various documents and scrolls.

"So, Hei-Won," Teo started, pushing himself up to the table to see the mess up close, "What is so important that it can't wait until the weekly council meeting?"

Hei-Won turned so fast, she nearly got tangled in her orange robes. Her eyes focused right on Azula. "This isn't a game, Teo. You are playing with the legacy of my people, here! This is a huge deal!"

Azula watched Teo pick up each sheet of paper on the table nearest him and examines each one. She can tell that he is purposely making her wait. The princess enjoyed watching the Acolyte's face turn various shades. "I did not realize that this temple tied into Ba Sing Se's history. That must be quite the story," Azula stated, trying for all the world to sound like she is from the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, nearly mimicking Hei-Won's accent.

The Acolyte was livid, "How dare you… you… who are you anyway? I didn't invite you to this meeting?"

"Hei-Won, this is Mai Lee, an old friend of mine from the war. Her family housed my Father and I while we travelled with the tanks and trucks to the Invasion point." Teo still looked over the papers, sorting them into neat piles as he went.

"Why is she in this meeting then?" Hei-Won demanded, actually stomping her foot.

"I invited her," Teo stopped sorting the documents and looked up at the Acolyte. "What are you mad about, Hei-Won? What could possibly be so terrible?"

"The orchards! Why are you cutting them down?" She all but shrieked, waving her arms in such a way that the stack of papers toppled over onto the neat piles Teo had made.

"We aren't cutting down the orchards, Hei-Won. We are simply starting to take care of them. We need more food and the orchards produce far more fruit than we could ever eat. If we start taking care of the land at the base of the mountain, then there will be fewer resources that need to be brought in from other places. It will save us money and I believe in two years we could have enough of a surplus to start exporting out."

"But those orchards were planted by the Nomads!" Hei-Won crossed her arms and nearly bent down to look Teo in the eye.

"The Air Nomads would have wanted them to be put to good use, feeding people that need fed rather than letting the orchards grow into forests and having the fruit rot on the branches. What's wrong with that?"

"I suppose you plan to use some sort of… machine for this work?" Hei-Won crossed and then uncrossed her arms, seeming not to know what to do with herself just then.

"For some of it, yes. But this could have waited until the meeting in two days," Teo seemed to be speaking to her as if she were a child.

"Fine. I am making a report to the Avatar!" Hei-Won brushed passed Azula on her way out.

"Tell Aang that I said hello!" Teo called after her. He then turned his chair towards Azula. "That is what I have to work with every day. She is supposed to be here as a historian, but every time we try to improve things, she causes a fuss. And I'm afraid that at some point, Aang will start paying attention to her."

"I thought the Avatar was your friend?" Azula asked.

"We are. We were, during the war. The last time I saw him was at Fire Lord Zuko's coronation. I went there to meet my Father as he was released from prison," Teo started sorting out the papers again.

"Ah, so he is not aware of the resources issue? Or that his personal cronies are causing trouble?" She watched him methodically create neat piles.

"I believe that on some level he's aware, but he either doesn't realize it or he just has other things to do," Teo pushed off from the edge of the heavy conference table, sending his chair a few feet backwards before he turned it. "I should get back to work. You can do whatever you want."

Azula considered her options. She did not know what else she could possibly do all day. On the other hand, she could not spend all her time with Teo. "I will go back to my room."

The pair parted ways and Azula sat in her room in the dormitory. It was sparsely furnished, but the bed was soft and the window had shutters that she could close to keep out the wind. She was busy running a stolen brush through the tangles of her hair, trying to free it from the braid it had been in for weeks. A peasant girl from one of the villages she had passed through had large eyes and complimented her on her hair, so Azula had let her braid it. The girl so reminded her of Ty Lee that she felt as if she were whole again and not an escaped prisoner from the Fire Nation.

She wanted to burn off all her hair. Take a knife to it. How did all those peasant women deal with such things? She needed at least four servants now, and some hair oils.

"You should be proud of such beautiful hair. Many noblewomen need more than just a brush and oils to look so beautiful."

"Many noblewomen have servants to do such things. I have a broken comb and the strength of a firebender." She muttered out loud to her mother, who stood just on the edge of her vision.

"You should not be afraid of looking feminine."

"I am not afraid. If you want me to keep my hair so badly, why don't you just take the comb?" Azula held the ivory comb out to her mother and the comb simply fell on the floor. "I thought so. Too good to help your own daughter with the tangled elephant-rat's nest that is her precious hair."

"Every proper Lady needs to be able to fix her own hair."

"Proper Lady? What next? You expect to marry me off?" Azula's voice increased in volume and pitch and she tangled her fingers into the knots in her hair.

"I would prefer for you to marry for love, but you should be prepared for it."

"Love? Love?! I am incapable of love, Mother! I'm a monster, remember?" Azula pulled her fingers roughly through the strands of hair, not stopping when whole locks come ripping out. "Why don't you go back to frowning at me disapprovingly and shut up!"

"You don't really mean that, Azula. If you did not want me here, then I would not be here."

Azula pulled her hands from her hair and set her hands on fire, turning on her heel to chase her mother around the room. "I want you gone! I want you GONE! So leave me ALONE!"

Ursa faded, leaving Azula out of breath, her hands smoking. She collapsed against the stone wall, sliding down into a heap on the cool stone floor. Her entire body felt like it was steaming like a dumpling from her internal fire. She pressed her cheek against the stone, trying to leech as much comfort from the raging fire as she could.

She woke hours later, long enough that the sky was dark beyond the shutters and the temple outside her room was quiet. She picked herself up off the floor and pulled the ineffective come out of her hair and put it in her dress pocket. Alone for the first time in weeks, Azula grabbed a fresh change of clothes and followed the signs to the women's bathhouse.

At this time of night it was devoid of others, and Azula pretended she was back in the palace, or even in Ba Sing Se as she left her dirty dress in a pile by the edge of the large, heated pool. She slipped into the water and dunked her head under the water, then just allowed herself to soak. The last time she'd bathed like this was before the comet, before she lost everything.

"Hello?" A voice interrupted Azula's bath.

The princess turned, poised to throw fire until she remembered herself. "You frightened me."

"I'm sorry, my name is Su, I live in the room across from yours I… heard you yelling earlier. Is… is everything okay?" The girl was wrapped in an old, but still delicate silk robe. He hair was braided and wound around her head like a crown. The girl's eyes were huge and green and looked down at Azula with concern.

"Oh, yes, everything is fine. I just," Azula reached into her discarded dress's pocket and pulled out her old comb. "I was having a fight with my hair. Travel is just… murder sometimes, you know?" The princess smiled in the most friendly way she could manage.

Su's face lit up, "Oh! I see. Do you need help? I always do my sisters' hair. I'm an apprentice to a barber now, actually."

"Really?" Azula asked, not really caring, but the girl was willing to tame the horrible knot that was her hair.

"Oh yeah, I know it is usually a man's job, but this is the place where everyone is equal. That's why I stay here, even though I could go back to the village I came from," Su slipped into the water beside Azula and gently took the comb to her hair.

"So I've heard. Is that because of Teo?" Azula asked, figuring that this girl might have some useful information about the inner workings of the temple leadership.

"I suppose? Indirectly. The Mechanist was adamant on making sure everyone had what they needed and did what they wanted to. He doesn't like telling people 'no'. Teo usually reins him in. Except now, I guess, he's not been here for a while." Su rambled as she worked the knots out of Azula's hair.

"I see. It has been interesting so far," Azula kept the conversation going, unsure of what else to do in the bathhouse in the middle of the night with this strange girl attending to her hair.

"Oh yeah, it's so nice here. Teo is the sweetest too. I think every girl here has a crush on him. But he seems sweet on you!" The girl giggled as she started to braid Azula's hair into two braids.

"What? No. That's…" Azula was unsure of how to control this situation. When Mai or Ty Lee said such things they would have to dodge blue fire.

"It's okay, you know. I saw the way he saved you. How romantic!" Su used a couple of hair pins to tack the braids around Azula's head.

"That glider was faulty, I could have been killed," the princess muttered.

"You wouldn't have been killed with Teo around. He is a prodigy."

Azula internally winced at the word. No good things came from being a prodigy. "I suppose everyone needs to be good at something."

"What are you good at?" Su asked as she finished with Azula's hair and set the comb down.

"I used to be good at something, but that doesn't matter any more. Now, I am good at traveling. Perhaps I am turning into an Air Nomad."

"You're so funny!" Su giggled and patted Azula on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. This is a good place for it."

Soon enough, Azula was alone again. She wrapped a towel around herself and left the bath. She dressed and went back to her room and lay on the bed. It was soft and she was finally tired enough to sleep. Ursa was gone now too, so it was quiet.

Azula fell into a deep sleep, the first uninterrupted sleep she's had since before the comet.


	4. The Open Workshop

The next morning, Azula rose with the sun, feeling refreshed and rested. She dressed in the green and brown colors that were prevalent throughout the Earth Kingdom. The temple was buzzing with early morning activity, people baked bread, gathered laundry, and made small deliveries, useful tasks that the community needed to survive as a whole. Azula wished he had something to do. Teo had yet to give her any assignments. She supposed he was just being kind after her disastrous first flight, but honestly she was just bored.

She grabbed a piece of fruit and a steamed bun from the dining hall and started wandering in the bowels of the temple, past the common rooms and recreation areas and the personal rooms of those that had been at the temple since the flood. She came to the large, ornate doors that marked the inner sanctum of the temple. Usually such doors were locked, but a sturdy wooden wedge was shoved underneath one of the heavy doors, revealing the workshop inside.

Every surface was cluttered with… things. Drawings, blueprints, spare parts, books, canvas, metal scraps, there were things here that Azula had never seen before and could not fathom their purpose. She crept further into the room, catching sight of Ursa frowning at her from the edge of her vision.

"You shouldn't spy on him," Ursa urged and Azula swatted her away. The princess was going to see what Teo was really like. People were only truly themselves when they thought they were alone.

Teo sat in his chair, wearing a thick leather apron, sturdy gloves and the goggles he used when flying. He held a metal pipe in one hand and tightened a vice with the other. He seemed intent to do… something. Too focused on his work to notice his workshop has been breached.

Azula had never been fond of tools. The only time she had been interested in the making of things is when she watched Master Piando craft swords. But that was before she had blue fire and lightning, and now swords could never have the same reach as lightning.

Teo inserted a strange, curved auger into the inside of the pipe and turned the handle, sending small metal shavings into the air. The sound of metal scraping on metal reminded her of the drill as it collapsed around her.

Her first true failure. Ursa pressed in close, almost suffocating her as she felt her feet sinking in the mud, her dreams of pleasing the Fire Lord crumpled along with the equipment the Avatar ruined. She had failed each one of her tasks after that. Even bringing Zuko home had failed since he betrayed them… betrayed her… in the end.

The scraping sounds stopped and Teo took a file to the end of the pipe, carefully rounding the sharp edge. The sound of the file set her teeth on edge, though perhaps it was easier for Teo since he expected the noise. Or maybe it was since he was creating the racket; it was less of a torture on his ears. Soon enough, the pipe was flipped and the file continued to scrape. Azula devised three new forms of torture by file by the time the noise stopped.

The aural assault ended as the pipe was removed and Teo fished a rag through it to clean the inside. The pipe itself was only the length of a handspan and it had a notch cut out of one end. The pipe was set aside and a wooden carving was brought out. How the two pieces fit together was another mystery, but Teo managed and held the strange device in his hand. It looked too strange as his fingers wrapped around the wooden handle and he peered along the barrel.

It had to be some kind of weapon. But what did it do exactly? Nonbender weapons were always so simple and effective. But this one had such small moving parts. Another curved mechanism slipped inside as the pieces were glued together, the scent of the glue making the princess gag.

The object went back into the vice as Teo seemed to work on a more delicate operation, weighing out a portion of black powder and rolling it into paper. Was he making explosives? Black powder was a Fire Nation invention, though its use was spreading to the Earth Kingdom in the time of peace. The smell was metallic and made her think that the entire room was going to explode. The temple was going to come down around her if she so much as moved near the stuff. Only the most insane firebenders used explosives to augment their bending.

She wasn't sure what Teo had done next, but the loud click followed by thunder that echoed in the depth of the high ceiling caused her to scream. Her face stung as warmth washed down her cheek. Someone screamed. There was a shout. Azula ran from the workshop back to her room. She huddled in the corner, holding her wounded cheek. "He is trying to kill me. First the glider, now… now this!"

"He did not even know you were there, Azula," Ursa said, kneeling down beside her and draping cold fingers across the back of her neck.

"Zuko put out a reward on my head. Teo is just trying to claim it for himself. Of course they need the gold, look at this dump! No one has anything to themselves. It is just… a… a painted shanty town!"

Azula ignored her mother and stood, her hand still on her cheek as she paced around the small room. "They are just as bad as those traitors in the Republic. Peasants pretending to be something more."

The door opened, revealing Teo sitting on the other side. "Mai Lee? Are you alright?"

"Coming to finish off the job?" Azula snarled and grabbed the front of his chair, pulling him into the room with her. She leapt over him and slammed the door shut, putting herself between him and the door.

"What? No! I came to make sure you were okay! I didn't know you were in the workshop until after you ran out!" He turned his chair to face her.

"It's so convenient, isn't it Teo?" Azula lunged forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "The glider accident yesterday, there were too many witnesses. But today, you just missed me." She let her skin heat until she could smell the sleeves of his shirt singe and gripped him tighter.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you as soon as I recognized you. Or I would have sounded the alarm that you were here and had any of the three nations come to lock you away." He sat still, his eyes locked onto hers.

"Maybe you just don't have the stomach for it. What do you know about killing?" she sat down on his lap, the odd angle of his chair allowing her to pin him down more effectively.

"Azula," he said in a much more calm manner than anyone else in such a position, "Azula please. Let me go and we can talk about it. Have I ever given you a reason to not trust me? I need your help. The Earth King is sending his delegates to try to negotiate. My father is still stuck in Republic City and can't get back in time. I'm the only person in the world that doesn't want to hurt you."

"Why? Why don't you want to hurt me?" She leaned in close to him, her hands had already burned through the long sleeves of his shirt and were now touching bare flesh.

"I have no reason to! You were used by those fighting in the war just like the rest of us. You were a weapon, I was an excuse. Others our age were forced to be parents, providers, soldiers, healers, fighters… it wasn't even our war. We just inherited it because none of your ancestors could stop it themselves." He reached up and took her arms, grabbing her by the wrists to pull her hands off of him.

"Why stop the war? It made us powerful!" She leaned her weight forward, making it harder for him to remove her hands.

"As a nation, yeah, but… but you? You have power but what did it get you? Stop and… and think!" He gasped and let go of her wrists and punched her in the stomach.

Azula rocked backwards, her scalding hands ripped away from blistered flesh. He hit her! He hit her hard! With the breath knocked out of her, the fire inside her waned. Ursa fluttered around her, both fretting about her and admonishing her for acting in such a way. "Stay out of this! If I couldn't take a... a punch then what use would I be." She growled at her mother as she fought to regain control.

Azula couldn't get enough air and her heart was pounding. She blinked and found Teo out of his chair and sitting on the floor with her. He held one of her hands in both of his.

"Azula, everything will be okay."

Where before she was hot, she now felt ice cold as Ursa held tightly against her back, whispering in her ear.

"Everything will be okay."

The room was dark when she noticed it next. Losing time was not a new occurrence, but it was still jarring to the exhausted princess.

"Azula, look what you've done!" Ursa snapped, causing Azula to look around the room.

She and Teo were sprawled on the floor, she half in his lap as he was propped up in the corner between the bed and the wall. His shirt was torn and bloody, holes where her hands burnt through, blisters already formed and looking angry. He needed a healer, but if she took him, there would be questions.

"Wake up." She tapped his face, hoping to rouse him. "You need a healer."

Her efforts were met with a groan and some stirring.

"Now Teo!" She was familiar with burns, even though it had been a long time since she, herself, had been burned. If left untreated, they could be debilitating.

Teo opened his eyes and blinked, "What?"

"I burned you. But at least I know you won't kill me, since you had your chance earlier." She took the torn edge of his shirt and started to rip, pulling the worn fabric away from his body.

"Hey! Stop, oww!" He weakly pushed her arms away. "Back of my chair, there's a bag."

She watched him a moment and then moved towards the compartment built on the back of the chair. She found a small bag filled with bandages, some herbs and a small vial. "Do you get injured enough to need to carry all this with you?"

"Not usually, but it comes in handy. How're your first aid skills?" He asked, shifting into a slightly better position.

"Rusty. I'm usually the one causing the damage." She knelt grabbed the water basin that sat against the wall and knelt down beside him. She knew enough to make a poultice with the herbs he set aside.

"Azula," he watched her apply the cooling paste to his shoulder as much as he could. "Who were you talking to?"

"I was speaking to you," she continued the delicate work, trying to ignore Ursa, who had been whispering the proportions of the poultice to her.

"No, before I came in."

"No one. Myself." She applies the bandage with a little more force than necessary since he is annoying her.

"Alright. Would you hand me that vial?" he held his hand out.

She picked it up and placed it in his hand, then stepped around to work on his other shoulder. "Opium is quite powerful to have on hand in case of an emergency."

He put the vial to his lips and drained it. "And it came in handy, didn't it?"

"Tell me about the Earth Kingdom delegates." She finished bandaging him, then looked around the small room. His chair filled up most of the floor and now she had no idea how to get him out without raising suspicions.

"We have two weeks before they get here. Father is in a hospital in Yu Dao. He had a breakdown from working with the council, Aang, Zuko and Earth King Keui."

"A breakdown?" She sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the wall.

"He's brilliant, but he has problems. Sometimes he sees things that aren't there. Or he gets so focused on something he won't eat or bathe or sleep. Other times he'll just sleep." He took a deep breath and grabbed the edge of the bed to pull himself up on it.

She watched him struggle to hold himself up as he got his useless legs underneath him enough to fall forward onto the bed behind her. He panted and his arms trembled from the effort and pain. "I know I'm not the only crazy person in the world."

"It is possible to be functional," he still lay on his stomach, his head turned towards her.

"You just said the Great Mechanist was in a hospital. How is that functional?" She moved so she could mostly face him and so that he wasn't staring at her bottom.

"Stress, tight deadlines and working with a group of people that refuse to get along will set anyone off," he said, seemingly content to just lay there on her bed.

"I suppose." She stood up to put the water basin back on its stand and cleans the dried blood off her face. The cut on her cheek is shallow but will likely heal without scarring. Teo's snoring made her jump and she was tempted to roll him off the bed. Instead, she rolled him onto his back and pushed him far to the side against the wall, then slipped under the blanket.


	5. The Forgotten Staircase

Azula woke to someone shaking her shoulder. She blinked and peered out the window to see the sky still dark.

"Azula, I have to get out of here," Teo whispered from beside her.

"Then go, you didn't have to wake me up," she lay back down.

"I need help. You burned me, remember?"

She turned again to see him sitting on the edge of the bed. She had torn off his shirt the night before to tend to the burns and his back was facing her now, the stark white bandages clashing with his tanned skin. "What do you need me to do?"

"Help me over to my chair," he gestured to the wooden device that was too large to turn maneuver in such a small room.

She stood in front of him, unsure of what she was supposed to do. He reached up and grabbed her arm and hauled himself up to his feet. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hissing as the movement pulled at the burnt and blistered skin.

Azula wrapped her arm around his back and half drug him over to the chair. It was a short distance away, but he was heavier than he looked. "Stop being such dead weight."

"This is the best I can do," he practically growled at her, his face twisted with pain and frustration. He moved his legs sluggishly, dragging each one forward with effort as he leaned on her shoulder. By the time she dropped him into the chair, he was panting with exhaustion.

She hastily grabbed her traveling cloak and draped it over Teo's shoulders, then pushed him out of the room. "Where am I going? This place is a maze of corridors that look exactly the same this time of night."

"Go right, then left to the large corridor. We'll take the steam lift up," he whispered to her. Once they got to the lift, he reached forward to set the controls. The lift was an unsettling experience, no matter how many times she stepped on the platform, she always fell like her stomach was going to drop down onto the floor when shook to a halt.

She pushed his chair down the drafty hallway towards his room. Once inside, she flicked her wrist and lit the stove and the lamps.

"There's a switch for that," Teo mumbled and pushed his chair the rest of the way to his bed.

She watched as he rolled gracelessly onto the bed and laid there, his eyes closed. "What's wrong with you? Other than the burns, of course. I obviously know where those came from." She moved over to the bed and pulled her cloak off of him. She checked his burns again.

"When I was a small child, our village flooded and our house collapsed. I was injured and my mother was killed," he recited as if he gave that answer out to every single new person he met.

"I didn't ask how it happened, I asked what is wrong with you." She sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving some distance between the two of them.

He was so quiet that she thought he fell asleep, until he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My legs and back was broken. As I got older, my legs didn't grow properly because the bones weren't set right the first time."

She looked down at his legs, even covered in the material of his pants; she could see they were too thin to be able to support him properly. "Do you have feeling?" She reached down and pulled off his shoes and set them on the floor.

"Some. It's almost like when you sleep on your arm and your arm goes numb."

She looked at his foot for a moment and then stood up to put the kettle on the stove. She could feel the pull of the sun on her inner fire. "It is morning, you will have to get up and do… whatever it is that you usually do all day."

"I do a lot more than you think, but I can't do anything if I can't move my chair," he turned his head so she could see his annoyed and pained expression.

"I'm surprised you can move that monstrosity along at all. If you're such a genius, why don't you build one that's lighter and easier to move?" She had been confined to a wheelchair before, though it was in the asylum and only because she'd been chi blocked, but she knew the one from the asylum wasn't nearly as heavy as Teo's chair.

"I've been working on one. I just keep getting distracted. Too many other things going on and I can't find the time to work on such a big project."

"What are you going to do?" She set the kettle on the stove to heat and watched him, making sure that he didn't fall back to sleep while she was still talking to him.

"I'll tell them that I hurt my back while I was in the workshop. That I was doing something I shouldn't have. It happens more often than I'd like. That will buy us some time. I should be okay by the time the Earth Kingdom delegates get here."

"What am I supposed to do while you lay in bed?" she glanced over at him again.

"What do you want to do here? All I know is that you don't want anyone else to know you're here." He watched her bring over the hot kettle.

"All I've ever wanted was to be Fire Lord and to not die. If I became Fire Lord now, I would probably be killed or worse by the Avatar. So now, my only goal is to live free, even if it is just to spite my brother." She set the kettle down, then started peeling off the bandages on his shoulders.

"Well, you're not a bad healer, where did you learn it from?"

"Tending my own wounds after training. Though I did get my hands on my mother's scrolls before father destroyed them. She was a herbalist and wrote down many things about poisons, poultices and remedies. I find that many of them are useful to me now that I'm a fugitive." She picked up Teo's medical kit and poked through the remaining herbs.

"Our healer's name is Di. You should go down and speak with her."

"I'm sure it would be a wonderfully ironic tale that the evil killer Princess Azula became a healer's assistant. No. I would rather join the circus," she frowned as she pulled small leaves off the dried herb stem.

"If you could be anything you wanted in the entire world, what would it be?"

"I would be a warrior princess because I'm so good at it. But there are no job openings for such a position." She cleaned his burns carefully, then applied more herbs.

"So there's nothing… you would rather do?" He said through grit teeth.

"What about you? Would you rather be doing something else?" she redirected his question and reapplied the bandages.

"If I had my way, I would do what I'm doing now, without being in charge. I like inventing things. I love flying. I don't know if I'd ever be able to do anything else."

"But if you had to, what would it be?" She finished bandaging and helped him sit, stuffing pillows behind his back to prop him up.

"Perhaps a tinker. Or maybe a librarian," he watched her come at him with another pillow. "No more pillows, thanks, I'm fine now. And you avoided my question. So if you weren't a professional fugitive, what would you do?"

"Mercenary is always a good option, but that would attract too much attention to myself. I suppose I would be a good whore. Eventually I could own a brothel. Perhaps one of my wealthy clients would marry me to make me honest," she watched his face turn red and laughed. "What? Do you have anything against the oldest profession?"

"No, no, I just. Really? You would do that?" He didn't meet her eyes, which made her uncomfortable, though she didn't know why.

"Why not? I'm good at it." She turned and slid onto the bed, easily straddling him. She watched the panicked look in his eyes as she put her hands on his bare chest and slid them down the well-defined muscle. She leaned forward and captured his lips with her own and she slid forward on his lap until their hips touched. Her lips parted and her tongue darted to touch his lips. He brought his arms up and took hold of her wrists, like he had the night before, only this time there was no burning.

"Are you saving yourself for the woman you will marry? Or do you believe that you would die without knowing the touch of a woman?" She purred and watched his expression turn to shame. So she had guessed right.

"I don't need a demonstration of your skills. And I especially don't need you to do… that… because you feel sorry for me or think that I'd do it because it's the only option." He didn't meet her eyes, just held her away from him.

She pulled away from him and stood, her expression neutral. "I am going back to my room now." She turned and stalked down the unused stairway from Teo's tower to the ground floor.

"He must not like women," she said to the specter of Ursa that appeared at her side.

"That is not what I saw."

"No man ever refuses," she frowned and sat down on the filthy stairs.

"Why are you trying to seduce him? He is already doing what you asked of him. You injured him and still he has not turned you in."

"That means nothing until someone of higher authority comes around. I need him to trust me by the time those Earth Kingdom delegates get here. Burning him was an unfortunate mistake on my part. He should not have followed me from his workshop." She touched the scratch on her face gently. She still did not know what hit her. At least her face no longer stung.

"He is very pure hearted. He believes in love. And he has too much dignity or pride to pay for your body."

"Is that what you believe, Mother?" She looked over to see Ursa had moved to her other side.

"No. That's what you believe. And you are surprised he refused you because of his reaction."

"He desires me because I am close to him. But he still has power over me. I should just find some mountain and become a hermit. It is the only way I can be free of other people." She sighed and ran her fingers over the braids that were still pinned to her head. Sleep had mussed them a little, but her hairstyle was still intact.

"You would rather spend the rest of your life with me than with someone like Teo?"

"No! Teo is just like everyone else. He's already told me his agenda. Once the temple is no longer in danger, or the Mechanist returns, he will be done with me. He will leave me to the wolves, though I'm not sure what is worse… will he call ZuZu? Or perhaps he will use me as a bargaining chip with the delegates to keep the rights to the land. Or maybe the Avatar will get involved. My bending in exchange for the deed to the temple!" She laughed even though the thought of such things chilled her to the bone. Returning to her previous life was not an option. She will not be imprisoned again.

"It is okay to want to be loved, Azula."

Azula stood and brushed off the dust from her dress and went to the dining hall. It was still too early for the morning meal, so she found herself peeling sweet potatoes in the kitchen to keep her mind occupied. She was glad that Ursa had left her in the stairwell, she thought that if the subject of love came up again, she will take the peeling knife and rupture her eardrums and gouge out her own eyes.

Every time she loved, she was abandoned. And Azula promised herself a long time ago that she will never be abandoned again.


	6. The Loud Kitchens

Azula kept to herself for the next few days. She appeared in the kitchens before mealtimes to do small tasks and listen to the other women gossip. She found that the temple was like every other place she had been, eavesdropping on idle chatter was the most effective way to gain information.

"So I hear that Teo is laid up again. Poor guy, first the Mechanist gets called away for months and now this." One of the older women stirred a pot and added spices to it, clucking her tongue at the unfortunate story, or the unfortunate soup, Azula couldn't tell which.

"I know, now the Earth King is going to send some bull-hounds after us," Another woman chimed in as she shaped dumplings. "I don't see why he's so interested, it's not like he can tax the stone till it bleeds gold. We don't have anything they want."

"It's probably because of the Avatar," a girl spoke up from chopping vegetables. "I was there when he visited during the war. He was furious at all the changes that were made."

"The Avatar doesn't care what we do. If he did, he'd have returned after the war to kick us all out. Besides, there are three other temples he can live in. The Mechanist won't ever willingly abandon this place," the woman at the soup pot added a final stir of the soup to accent her point.

Azula saw her opening and decided to take it. "What about Hei-Won? The Acolyte? If the Avatar wasn't interested then why would he send her here?"

The women in the kitchen turned to look at her for the first time since she arrived. "You do have a point," Vegetable Girl said, setting her knife aside. "Hei-Won tries to block the council on every little thing."

"That girl is a few rocks short of a quarry, if you ask me," Soup Stirrer added. "She refuses to eat any meat, use any of the steam lifts, or the bath house. She claims that she's 'traditional'. The Acolytes are just another cult of the Avatar if you ask me. Just not nearly as useful or effective as the Kyoshi Warriors."

"Her goal isn't to kick us out though," Dumpling Woman added. "She wants to restore the temple to how it was before the genocide. So she wants to take away the running water, the gas stoves, lamps and heating systems, the steam lifts, the message tubes and all gliders that don't require airbending. So we could stay here, if we all wanted to become monks."

"I don't care what anyone says, I love the lifts. They are so useful when dealing with the laundry."

"She's been sweet on Teo for some time though," Dumpling Woman mused, wiping her fingers off on a towel. "She came in here last night and made him dinner of curried vegetables and made such a mess. Didn't even have the courtesy to clean up after herself!"

Azula went over to the station at the far end, where the mess still remained, the women of the kitchen too stubborn to clean up an outsider's mess. The counter was sticky with an inedible yellow sauce and burnt vegetables still clung to the wok. She picked up a wooden spoon and scratched at the glob of sauce on the counter. Dried flakes of something clung to her spoon and she smelled it. White willow bark was a strange ingredient to add to a curry. When ground, the bark can be used as a natural pain killer.

She quietly slipped out of the kitchen with a basket of steamed buns and sought out Hei-Won. The Acolyte was not hard to find, she still sat at the gate where Azula had first met her. "Good morning Hei-Won," Azula put on her most friendly face.

"Hello Mai Lee, I didn't expect you out here," the girl adjusted her red and orange robes.

"I saw you out here by yourself again and thought you might like some fresh buns from the kitchen." Azula took a seat in the unoccupied chair in the small shelter. She set the basket in front of the other woman.

"Oh thank you. I suppose my morning fast is finished. I took Teo some dinner last night, but he was sleeping," The Acolyte pulled out a fresh roll and bit into it.

"Sleep is often the best remedy," Azula watched the other girl for her reaction.

"The rumor mill says that he hasn't had any visitors for the past few days. Did you two have a fight?" Hei-Won asked, though the look in her eye was far too calculating to be just an innocent question.

"No. He told me to stay away for a few days. I believe his pride hurt more than his back." Azula resolved to visit Teo next, bring him some soup to quell that rumor. She couldn't lose her status as Teo's girlfriend in the eyes of these people.

"That sounds like him. Last winter he had a fever and refused to stop boarding up the windows before the storms hit. Stubborn is what he is." Hei-Won demolished the second bun as soon as she stopped talking.

"You don't seem to like Teo and his father as much as the others here," Azula said, catching the girl with her mouth full.

"It's not that at all. Teo is a nice man. He is intelligent, clever and has such a big heart. The Mechanist is… he is crazy. He took a work of art and transformed it into… into a… a machine full of dirty technology and lies. He was a conspirator with the Fire Nation during most of the war, you know. It wasn't until Avatar Aang came along that he saw the error in his ways and defected to the right side."

"He made a deal with a general in order to secure the safety of over a hundred people. If the Earth Kingdom had such a problem with his conduct during the war, he should have brought up formal charges as soon as he set foot on Earth Kingdom soil." Azula looked back towards the temple.

"If he was so concerned about his people, he should have taken them to a proper city, instead of the temple."

"I once read a book about Air Nomads," Azula said, watching Hei-Won for her reactions. "Do you know what's absolutely fascinating? The Nomads had no non-benders. The reason for this is that if a child was identified as an air bender, then they were removed from that family and raised in the temples. The child could be from the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation or the Water Tribes. They were unified by their skill and raised by the beliefs of the monks."

"Where did you read that from?" Hei-Won narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"My Grandfather was a soldier in the Fire Nation army. If you are so intent on preserving Air Nomad culture, you should start searching the black market and private collectors for stolen scrolls, books and artifacts from before the genocide."

"This temple is a stolen artifact, Mai Lee. Thank you for breakfast. Please tell Teo that I hope he gets better soon," Hei-Won handed Azula back the basket and struck up a meditation pose.

Two hours and three stops later, Azula found herself standing outside of Teo's door. For a moment, she thought of turning back, but she was here now and figured she might as well check on him. "Teo, I'm coming in!" She said, giving him warning so she wouldn't get hit with anything.

Upon hearing no answer, she pushed the door open and walked over to the bed. Teo was flat on his back, asleep with his mouth hanging wide open. She spied a half eaten curry dish on the table. So at least someone was feeding him, even if it did smell half rank. Further inspection turned up two empty glass vials and a near-full vial on the shelf built into the wall above Teo's head. She snatched the full vial and put it in her dress pocket and sat down on the bed hard enough to make it bounce.

He still did not stir, so she took him by the shoulders and shook him. "Wake up!"

Teo's eyes peeled open and he stared up at her blearily. "Hey… what are you doing here?" he said groggily.

"How much opium have you taken?" She asked, plucking one of the empty vials off the table and waved it in front of his face.

"What time is it?" He seemed to struggle to focus.

"How much have you taken? Are you an addict?" She dug her fingers into the burns on his arms, hoping to shock him awake.

"I'm not an addict, let go of me," he slurred sleepily, making a weak attempt at batting her away.

"Idiot. Hei-Won fed you turmeric and white willow bark." At his blank stare, she slapped his face, "Pay attention! Natural painkillers. If you have been taking opium as well, then you could die!"

He blinked after her slap, and then seemed to wake up a little more. "Hei-Won was here last night, Aang is coming with the Earth Kingdom delegates."

"So instead of telling me, you decide it's best to sleep through the whole thing?" She growled and pulled him out of bed and into the washroom. She dumped him into the bath and turned on the water. "You will not get out of this that easily!"

The shock of the cold water caused him to yelp. "No! I didn't know she drugged me. It was… nearly inedible. Besides how was I supposed to contact you? You've been gone for three days. What was I supposed to do? Ask Hei-Won to find you and bring you here? She's been the only one to see me since I supposedly hurt myself."

"She suspects something, you Agni-forsaken fool! If the Ash-Blasted Avatar comes here, then we are both going to the gallows!" She turned off the cold water; letting him sit there with drenched clothing.

"I'm… I'm not going to let that happen." He stammered through chattering teeth. "You still have that contract? The Asylum paper?" He pushed himself up and out of the tub, balancing himself on the side.

"Yes, of course. But I doubt your protection will mean anything from the Avatar, the Earth King or my brother! You're just… you're nothing!" She paced again, her hands knotting in the braids pinned to her head.

"Stop it," he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, his strong hand cold from the bath.

She stopped and looked at him, trying to focus on his serious expression.

"I may not matter in the grand scheme of things, but I'm going to do all I can to keep you out of prison," he pulled her close and enveloped her in a brief, wet hug. "To keep both of us out of prison."

She felt trapped until she remembered to breathe and let herself just be held for a few seconds. Once she felt calmer, more in control, she stepped out of his arms. "You look terrible." She reached out to brush his hair out of his face.

He smiled at her and she felt warm again despite her dress being wet. "I'll handle Aang and Hei-Won… y-you'll have to stay here. Hopefully they won't stay until the delegates get here." He pulled one leg out of the tub and set it on the floor, then repeated the action both of his feet were on the floor.

"How much time do we have?" She paced the small area, flexing her fingers as she tried to think without Ursa getting in the way. The woman was no use, alternately telling Azula where the better exits were and that she should just turn herself into Zuko. She shook her head violently to loose her mother's hold on her.

Outside a horn sounded and Teo's expression fell. "Sticks and mud! Aang is already here!"


	7. The Crowded Courtyard

Teo peeled off his soaked shirt, and grabbed several things off the shelf beside him. "If you aren't going to help me, wait out there." He pointed to the bedroom.

She waited several long minutes while Teo got dressed. She tried not to think about what will happen when the Avatar finds her.

"Bring my chair over!" Teo called and Azula maneuvered the thing towards the washroom.

Teo hobbled out, wearing a longsleeved white shirt, a brown vest, green pants and a green jacket in the new style that she's seen in her travels in the Earth Kingdom. He turned and fell into the chair with a grunt. "You stay here, I'll go talk to Aang." He turned and headed out the door to the lift.

She paced his room for a few minutes, trying to get hold of herself. "I won't go back, I won't go back."

"Calm down, Azula. Teo seems like he knows how to handle the Avatar." Ursa said, laying her hands on Azula's shoulders. "You have to trust him."

"Trust!? I don't trust anyone. Every time I do, things get worse," she pulled away from Ursa and stumbled against the bed. She lay down in the spot she found Teo in. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore her mother's stare.

"If you didn't trust him, why did you stay after he recognized you?"

"I didn't assess him as much of a threat. I miscalculated," she rolled off the bed and resumed pacing.

"You've been miscalculating since you arrived here."

Azula stopped as Ursa sounded less like her usual self and more like Azula's own inner-voice.

She took one last look at the room then slipped out to the stairs. She made sure to keep with the crowd, her green and brown dress matching the style of the temple dwellers. She hoped with her hair pinned up and her signature bangs hidden that she could be anonymous enough to make sure Teo was not selling her out.

Outside in the main courtyard, Teo watched from the landing pad as Aang and several of the gliders twisted and soared through the air around the temple. Azula supposed that Teo's fake injury would prevent him from taking part in such a game though he seemed too busy talking to someone that she couldn't see.

Annoyed at the fact that she couldn't get any closer, she pushed through the crowd to see whom Teo was laughing with. She nearly screamed with rage when she saw Katara kneel down next to Teo's wheelchair.

"That whore," she muttered to herself. First that water bender goes after the Avatar, then seduces her brother and helps him become Fire Lord, now she moves in on Teo?

"Calm down, Azula," Ursa urged.

Azula clamped down on her rage, forcing herself to watch the pair. Teo looked terrible, his face pale and his movements sluggish. Katara leaned over and whispered, her face plastered with a fake smile, the smile of a healer that won't give bad news.

Teo looked away from her, focusing on the gliders. Azula was too far away to hear, but he must have said something convincing because the nosey healer stood up and stepped away. Azula hoped he told that girl whose eyes are too big for her face to take her water someplace else, but she knows that Teo is much too polite for such an answer.

Eventually the gliders landed and Teo escorted the Avatar and his wife to the dining hall for the midday meal. Azula followed the crowd to the dining hall where she made her way into the kitchens.

"What's all the fuss out there? Why's there such a rush?"

"The Avatar decided to pay us a visit. Better put some more vegetables on, Suma!"

"Mai Lee, there you are! Here, start chopping! Everyone is going to expect food right now," Loma, the woman that usually makes dumplings said and shoved a knife into Azula's hand.

"Loma, Mai Lee is probably going to have to leave soon," Shi, the girl that usually chops vegetables warned.

"Oh no, I'm not needed out there. I believe you all will need more help anyway," Azula put on a smile and took the knife in hand. She had wondered when the rumors of Teo's girlfriend would spread to the kitchen staff.

"Are you sure?"

"It is no problem at all," she started cutting cabbage and glanced out the small window from the kitchens to the dining hall. She could just barely see the Avatar and Teo conversing at one of the larger tables.

"Mai Lee!"

Azula turned towards the voice with a cold sense of dread. Hei-Won grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the kitchen. "You have to meet the Avatar."

"No, I have to finish with the lunch service." Azula protested as the Acolyte drug her out. The other women stopped to watch.

"Don't be silly! Your place is at the head table, sitting beside Teo," she kept chattering. Azula considered stabbing her with the kitchen knife, but thought better of it and tucked the knife into the folds of her dress and apron.

Ursa screamed at her to think of something, to find a way out of this before it was too late.

Avatar Aang laughed at something Teo said. He looked over to his approaching student and the smile on his face froze as if he had been trapped in another iceberg.

Hei-Won put her arm around Azula's shoulders as if they were best friends, "Avatar Aang this is –"

"Azula!" Katara summoned her water whips and put herself between Aang and the princess.

Hei-Won's eyes widened and she jumped back from the firebender as if she were burned.

"Katara no!" Teo, trapped by the table and the crowd in the dining room, put up his arms. "She hasn't done anything!"

"That doesn't matter, she's up to something, you don't know how evil she is!" A water whip sailed across the table towards the princess. Azula summoned a shield of blue flames, rendering the whip into harmless steam.

"Katara! Enough!" Aang said, finally over his initial shock and he stepped up to her. "A lot of people are still looking for you."

The temple dwellers were confused, making a wide ring of open space with "Mai Lee" and Katara in the middle. Hushed whispers spread around the room.

"I won't go back! You'll have to kill me first!" Azula shouted, readying her hands up in a firebending stance.

"You can't just get away with what you've done, Azula! You need to go back to the asylum. Or if you'd prefer, a prison cell next to your father!" Katara swirled her arms above her head, forming a large ball of ice.

"Like you haven't committed any crimes during the war! I served my nation with pride. I did what I had to do and I lost. What else do you want from me? What else do I have to give?!" Azula shouted, igniting a ring of blue fire as a barrier between her and her attackers. Her hair started to fall down around her face.

"Azula, no one is going to hurt you," The Avatar stepped forward, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture. He stepped forward and she stepped back, taking a glance behind her at the terrified temple dwellers.

"You are such a liar. You say that life is sacred, but I know what you did to my father. Torture such as that is a fate worse than death. And I won't let you take my bending." Azula turned and ran out of the dining hall, leaping up on one of the long tables to avoid getting held up by the crowd.

"Katara wait!" She heard the Avatar yell.

Out in the main courtyard, Azula turned towards the glider take off point instead of the road down the mountain. But she stopped dead when she saw Teo with his glider wings attached to his chair.

"Get on! Hurry!" He urged as his fingers wrapped around the weapon that she saw him make in the workshop.

She silently obeyed, climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around the back of his chair. He released the brake on his chair and they rolled down the ramp and off the edge of the temple. Her stomach dropped as they fell briefly, but the wind soon took them. She let Teo take care of their flight as she watched Katara stop at the edge of the temple.

"They will come after us on the bison!" She shouted at Teo. "This was a terrible plan! You can't outrun the Avatar!"

"This is such an ostrich-horse dung plan because you didn't listen to me in the first place. If you would have just stayed in my room, then I wouldn't have had to improvise!" he snapped back at her.

"The Avatar is coming!" She held on tightly as se watched the airbender leap off the side of the temple and unfurl his glider.

"Hang on!" Teo grit his teeth and he pulled into a fast spin, accelerating them further, but Aang was still on their tail.

"Teo! Azula! Turn around now and we can talk about this!"

"No Aang, you turn around and let us leave." Teo said, twisting around to look at Aang. "My Father is being held in Republic City. The Earth King wants to leverage taxes and mining rights on us. Your own people want to take the temple away from us! It was supposed to be a place for everyone to start over, on equal ground! But it's been tainted now. Sullied by hate and fear. If Azula can't start over there, then I don't want to be there either."

The Avatar's expression changed as he flew along beside them. They all turned when they heard the sky bison, with Katara sitting behind his head.

"Teo! What do you think you're doing?!" Katara shouted over the wind.

"I'm doing what I believe is right!" He wrapped one arm around Azula and pulled his glider into a dive, causing them to plummet fast. Azula felt like she had when her glider was falling, except now she had Teo's arm holding onto her tightly.

"Teo, we're both going to die!" Azula shouted in his ear.

"Not if I can help it!" He shouted back, pulling hard on the glider controls.

A water whip lashed at the glider, sending them into a spin. Teo corrected their descent. "Put your hands where mine are!" She obeyed and placed her hands on the controls of the glider. "Hold steady!" Azula could feel the chair shake and the glider shudder. Another whip and they would fall to their deaths.

Teo reached over her and aimed the weapon he brought with them. He waited until Katara lashed out at them again and fired.

Azula was deafened by the noise and choked on the smoke. She heard the sky bison roar with fear and break off the attack. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and saw the bison was unharmed and retreating back to the temple. Teo took the controls back from her. "What did you do?" she shouted.

"Scared Appa of and kept Katara from killing us. Now we have to get Aang off our tail."

"I have an idea, but it's a long shot." She shouted through the wind.

He turned to her, looking at her through the green tinted goggles. She couldn't bear the trust in his eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him. Her fingers wrapped around the kitchen knife she tucked into her skirts.

There was a sickening tear as Azula slashed the canvas of the glider. Teo pulled away from her and looked up at the glider, then her with the knife. His mouth opened in surprise as she pushed off his lap. She tucked her arms in and pushed blue flames from her hands and feet, accelerating further away from the temple as Teo fell. Predictably, the Avatar dove to save Teo, letting her escape unscathed. She ran for the forest as the sky darkened, ignoring Ursa's shouting as she left the temple and Teo behind.


	8. The Guarded Hallway

Surprised as he was, Teo leaned into the kiss. Sure they were probably about to die but as hot and cold as Azula was, she had been the only woman in his life that took an interest in him. These were strange thoughts as he plummeted to the jagged peaks below, but he hadn't had time for a backup plan. All he could hope for now was that Aang got to him in time.

He unbuckled the belt that held him in his chair and grabbed the torn glider wings with one hand. He sent prayers to the Earth and the Sky as he detached the wings from his wheelchair. Teo clung to the wings with both arms as the heavy chair shattered upon impact with the jagged peaks below. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Azula speed away from him.

"Gotcha!" Aang wrapped an arm around Teo and pulled a hard loop, sending them upside-down and on a course back towards the temple.

Teo forced all thoughts out of his mind. Worrying about his fate would only make things worse. The flight back to the temple was short. As soon as Aang landed, he set Teo down on the paving stones of the temple courtyard. Katara was over in a flash, her eyes as angry as a stormy sea.

"What in the name of the moon do you think you were doing?!" Katara shouted. "You could have killed Appa!"

Not able to contain himself anymore, he looked up at Katara. "I'm not the one that started attacking! You didn't even give her a chance, you just assumed that she was a threat and attacked her! Last I heard the Water Tribe is the only nation that doesn't have a price on her head. Unless you've taken up bounty hunting since the war." He couldn't keep the icy tone from his voice as he sat haphazardly on the sun-warmed stones of the courtyard. He was still shaken from the near-fall and his chest felt tight as if his heart would burst.

The crowd from the dining hall formed a circle around them. As if this wasn't hard enough, now his friends and family were here to see him hit rock bottom. He could hear their whispering. He imagined them rejecting him as their leader, expelling him from the only home he remembers. He did not need the Earth King and Hei-Won to take the temple from him; he practically exiled himself for siding with the most wanted war criminal in the world.

"Who did you think you were dealing with, Teo? Do you know how many people she's killed?" Katara looked down at him, her fists planted on her hips.

"How many people have you killed in the war? I don't know about you, Katara, but I drove a tank into a line of Fire Nation soldiers during the invasion." He looked from Katara to Aang, who so far had been silent. "How many others did you pardon? She's not a threat if you don't treat her as one. She's been here for two weeks without a single incident."

"Why don't we take this someplace private?" Aang suggested, then looked down at Teo, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

Two men who had grown up with him stepped forward and knelt down beside Teo. "Thank you Rui, Josho." He whispered as he hooked an arm around each of their shoulders. The burns on his arms ached, but he refused to think about it. Slowly, he walked with assistance towards the meeting room he'd taken Azula to not two weeks before. At the end of the long journey, Rui and Josho helped him sit in the chair near the door and left, promising to be just outside.

Aang and Katara settled on the other side of the table. Aang opened his mouth to speak first. "Teo, why didn't you turn Azula in as soon as she came here?"

"Because she didn't want to hurt anyone. She came here to start over," Teo planted both hands on the table. The stress of the day was finally getting to him. He just wanted to sleep, pretend for a few hours that none of this had ever happened. If he could push the fugitive princess from his mind, he could have peace for just one evening.

"Azula always lies," Katara stated, her eyes narrowed.

"Katara please," Aang looked at her and she crossed her arms. "Teo, I know you just wanted to help, but she's dangerous."

"She hasn't hurt anyone!" Teo insisted, trying to keep his aching arms from trembling.

"Teo," Aang started, his tone sympathetic, "She cut your glider wings."

"She felt trapped. You both were gaining on us. That water whip almost knocked us out of the sky." At least Katara had the decency to look like she regretted almost killing him. "I defended myself. Azula… she probably figured that you would rather save me than chase her." As betrayed as he felt, he couldn't exactly blame her for choosing to leave him behind. He knew he would have slowed her down once they were on the ground.

"I sent messenger hawks to Zuko and King Kuei. They both need to know that Azula was here," Aang stated, trying to break up the tension between the two. "There will be an investigation and I'd like you to cooperate with us."

Teo felt as if he'd been slapped once again, "King Kuei has just been begging for a reason to try to take this land from us, Aang and now you've handed it to him on a platter. He will drill and mine these mountains bare."

"What do you mean? He can't take the land, it belongs to the Air Nation," Aang said with a perplexed expression on his face.

Teo drew in a deep breath, as much as he liked Aang, the man was often still thinking in ideals that existed before the war. "The Air Nation no longer lives here, Aang. Just like you and Zuko took the colonies from the Earth King, he has just been waiting to take these mountains from you."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Aang looked hurt by Teo's words. The Avatar pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I wrote you letters, Aang. I sent them everywhere I thought you might be. I tried to get my father to come home, but he couldn't." Teo knotted his hands in his hair out of frustration. He felt like a child in a room of adults that no one would take seriously.

"He's been doing great work in Yu Dao. His designs for Republic City and Air Temple Island are fantastic. We couldn't have gotten things done as fast without his help." Aang looked guilty, like he knew that he was keeping the Mechanist for his own pet project.

"But he's needed here! I can't do this by myself anymore, I'm not a politician or a tactician, and I can't keep fending off these attacks without backup. You've never responded to any of my letters, only sent Hei-Won here, who keeps hindering our progress! I'm tired of this, Aang. Really tired." He took a deep breath and met Aang's gray eyes. "Either you give us this land officially and we secede from the Earth Kingdom, or kick us out and keep the land for yourself. We are tired of being on the verge of losing our home."

"I-I… need time to think about this." Aang hesitated, averting his eyes.

"Bring my father home, Aang. He needs to know what's going on."

"Of course. I'm going to have to arrest you though." Aang said gently.

Teo let out a humorless laugh. "Where am I going to go? And how will I get there?"

Katara and Aang shared a worried look before they let the two men inside to assist Teo up to his room. As a precaution, Katara followed them.

The journey to the tower was tense and silent. Teo felt defeated. He failed to protect his people from the growing storm and he failed to keep Azula safe. All he wanted to do was curl up in his own bed and hide until his father was home to tell him that everything would be all right.

Rui and Josho helped Teo into his bed and he thanked them, telling him he'd call for them if he needed more help. He shrugged off his jacket and deposited it on the floor, the effort making his shoulders ache from the still healing burns. Katara stepped forward, but hesitated.

"Before you met us outside, your people said you'd been injured," she sounded uncharacteristically shy.

"I was burned when Azula had an episode," he said dryly. Lying was of no use anymore.

"And you still defend her?" Katara stepped forward, her healer's demeanor showing again. "She's crazy and selfish, she'll do anything she wants if you let her."

"She needs help." He carefully unbuttoned his shirt and vest for Katara to look at the burns.

The waterbender slowly pulled off Teo's shirt and examined him. "They've been well tended to."

"Once she realized I wasn't a threat to her, she helped me." Already he felt his eyes dropping, the excitement of the day wearing off.

Their conversation stopped as Katara's cooling hands touched the blistered skin. He felt instant relief and let himself fall back against the bed as soon as she removed her hands. "You should get some sleep."

* * *

><p>Katara averted her eyes as Teo pulled off his shoes and put himself to bed. She waited until his breathing evened out before leaving the room. She had to leave the room so that he wouldn't realize how unnerved she was around him. With her waterbending, she knew the extent of his injuries and could do nothing for them. It both angered and saddened her to think that a friend could suffer so much due to a cruel twist of fate.<p>

Outside, she sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. She felt uncomfortable leaving Teo completely alone, especially with tensions running high between the temple dwellers and Aang.

"So much for a quiet vacation, huh?" Aang sat down next to her, leaning his staff at his feet.

"Are you okay?" she asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Already she could see the lines of stress in his face. They had all been blindsided by this turn of events and she knew he felt guilty for putting off reading those letters. She suspected he knew exactly where they were; sitting quietly on the corner of his desk as they were when one of the Acolytes gathered them all together for him.

"I sent a message to Sokka and Toph to find the Mechanist and bring him here. One of the council members showed me the correspondences between Teo and Kuei and from the Mechanist to Teo. It's… a nightmare. I can't believe I neglected them so much." He leaned against her, sighing sadly.

"Hey, you're only one man. You can't be everywhere at once." She hugged him tightly.

"But I should have at least looked at Teo's letters. Checked in with Hei-Won more," he pulled away from Katara.

"Have you spoken to her yet?"

Aang shook his head. "No, not yet. I wanted to get the temple dwellers' take on things first. None of them suspected that Azula was dangerous."

"Teo seems so different," Katara remarked, toying with the hem of her long skirts, "I can't imagine him of all people being taken by Azula. They seem like the least likely people to ever meet."

"I know, right? And what would make her come here of all places? I just don't understand what he sees in Azula that we don't. I'm all for second chances but… for her…" he suppressed a shudder, still haunted by the memories of death by lightning.

"All we have to do is wait. Zuko and Kuei's representatives will be here soon and Sokka and Toph will bring the Mechanist and we can sort all this out." Katara wrapped both arms around Aang, giving him what comfort he could.

Footsteps from the lift drew Katara's attention. Hei-Won carried a large tray full of offerings from the kitchens. She knelt down in front of them and set the tray on the tiles. "I thought you might be hungry since lunch was… interrupted."

"Thank you Hei-Won," Aang sat up and picked up a bowl of rice and fried vegetables.

"Can I see him?" the Acolyte asked Aang, her eyes respectfully diverted as she bowed slightly.

"No," Katara said quickly before Aang could answer.

Hei-Won looked up sharply, though this wasn't the first time that Katara had to assert her place beside Aang to the Acolytes.

"It has been a long day for us all Hei-Won. We'll need to discuss what's been going on here in the morning. Until then, just go back to your room. We'll keep an eye on him." Aang said more gently than seemed possible. But he always had a soft spot for his fan club.

"Yes, of course." Hei-Won bowed again and left them alone. Katara couldn't help but notice the hurt look on the woman's face as she left them.

As soon as Hei-Won left them, Aang spit out the bite of food he had in his mouth. "This food is terrible!" he whispered, then buried his face in Katara's sleeve.

Despite the situation, Katara laughed and swatted at him. "I'll go down to the kitchens myself and bring something up."


	9. The Far Away Hospital

Sokka read over Aang's letter again as he entered Toph's metalbending academy. He wanted to be sure he got all his facts right before he enlisted Toph's help. The academy was loud with activity and he had to dodge more than one flying piece of metal. The warrior safely navigated to Toph's office and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came the gruff reply from within.

Sokka smiled and poked his head into the office. He saw Toph leaning back in her chair, her feet on the desk. "Don't tell me that you're not happy to see me!"

"Snoozles!" The earthbender set her chair down on all four legs and set her feet on the ground. "About time you came to visit!"

"Yeah well, been busy building a city. But good news, you and I have been specifically requested for a mission," he stepped into the office and sat down in the chair opposite of Toph.

"Yeah? A mission? From who?" she leaned forward, curious by the prospect of adventure.

"Aang sent me this letter two days ago that you and I need to pick up the Mechanist and bring him back to the Northern Air Temple. There's something going on there, but Aang didn't mention it in the letter." Sokka was sure Toph would agree, even if she had her hands full here.

"It doesn't sound like much fun, but I suppose if Twinkletoes needs help, I can be there." She stood up from her desk and stretched. She had grown over the past five years, though she was still shorter than him.

"Great. We can pick up the Mechanist and take an airship to the temple. It'll be a lot faster." He stood up and put his arm around his old friend. "It'll be just like old times!"

"Yeah, great, flying, woo." Came her unenthusiastic response, but she was still happy with the chance to spend time with her friends. "Seriously though Snoozles, give me the details, where is this Mechanist guy?"

"He's in a hospital near the outskirts of Yu Dao."

"Hospital? Is he sick?" She tilted her head at him quizzically.

"I have no idea. The only thing I know is that Aang said we should hurry," he stuffed the letter back in his pocket.

"Alright, give me one minute." Toph opened the door to a closet and removed a well-worn pack, already loaded with supplies. "Okay, ready."

"You keep a bag already prepared?" He couldn't help the smile. It was a good idea.

"Of course, don't you? Always be prepared. It's a metalbending philosophy," she nodded and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of her office. "Listen up gang! I'll be out of town for a while. You new guys listen to The Dark One. He's in charge."

The ruckus of the main classroom stilled and then the chaos resumed. No one seemed to mind at the new arrangement at all.

"Well that was easy."

"I'm just such a good teacher, that I don't have to stay here to be effective." She grinned again. "So I guess we're taking some kind of transport to this hospital?"

"Yes, I got myself a truck now. It's an old ore transport, but it's reliable and it'll get us from the hospital to the airship station much faster than ostrich-horses." He proudly slapped the side of the metal truck, where it was once green; he'd haphazardly painted it a dark blue, though it faded into a dark gray in the sun.

"I guess it's better than nothing." Toph climbed into the truck and soon they were off.

Along the way to the hospital, the two old friends chatted about what they've been up to. Her metalbenders were doing very well, though she was still the best. He told her all about what he was doing in Republic City and the changes they were making to keep things as balanced and fair as possible.

Sokka pulled his truck up to the large stone and metal gate that surrounded the hospital. "Well, we're here. The Serenity Stone Hospital."

"Huh, that's an odd name for a hospital," Toph jumped out of the truck and followed him. "This place is huge."

"Yeah, and imposing." Sokka led Toph though the massive gates and into the lobby of the massive building. He was relieved to see a woman sitting at the desk.

"Good morning, what can I help you with today?" The overly cheerful woman asked.

"Yes, I'm here to see uh… the Mechanist," Sokka started, then remembered that he didn't know the Mechanist's real name. He felt rather silly as the cheerful woman gave him a blank look.

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't have anyone under that name here."

"He's called the Mechanist, he's bald on top with bushy hair on the sides, wears a monocle, patchy eyebrows, and only two fingers on his left hand." Sokka glanced at Toph, wondering if the woman was lying or not.

"Oh, you mean Mister Teo. He's expecting his son to visit," she looked from Toph to Sokka, "Are you his son?"

"Yes, I am. And this is my girlfriend, Toph," Sokka lied and placed his hand on Toph's shoulder. "I need to see my father right away."

The woman nodded and stood up, "Right this way, sir."

Sokka and Toph followed the woman down a twisting hallway and past many lavishly furnished rooms. Whatever kind of hospital this place was, it was designed for the rich. "Um excuse me, I'm sorry but… who is paying for my father to stay here?" Sokka asked as they passed an ornate marble statue of some man that was important enough to be made into a marble statue.

"We were informed of your financial situation, Mr. Teo, all of your father's fees are paid for by King Kuei. Rest assured, he is being well taken care of."

"Of course. I'm sure you are doing all you can for him." Sokka filed that information away and glanced at Toph again. The metalbender didn't seem to like the feel of this place either.

Their guide led them to a nondescript door. "Here you are. Your father is right through here." The woman hastily left before they could get another word in.

"What the stone is that about?" Toph asked, looking as confused as Sokka felt.

"I'm not sure. Something isn't quite right here." He turned from Toph to the door and knocked.

"Somebody is in there, I can feel him moving around." Toph whispered as Sokka knocked again.

"What the doodle? Who is it?!"

"Mechanist? It's me, Sokka. From the Southern Water Tribe, remember?" Sokka called out.

"Sokka? Oh yes! Rotten eggs and putting a lid on it!" There was shuffling going on in the room as the man on the other side made his way to the door.

Once the door was open, Sokka wished it would shut again. There was a smell coming from the room that made his toes curl. He smiled, breathing through his mouth as he came face to face with the Mechanist, whose bushy hair was longer and greasier. His face was pale and waxy, but his eyes still had a strange brightness to them. "Sokka!" The older man flung his arms around the warrior and hugged him before noticing they weren't alone.

"And who is this?" the Mechanist asked, looking down at Toph.

"Toph, so you're Teo's dad? I kind of pictured you to be… I don't know… shorter," Toph said, looking in the Mechanist's direction.

"Oh! Teo is quite tall, if he stands up, that is. But that's not what you came here for, is it? Come Sokka, let me show you Republic City!" The old man ushered the pair inside the musty room and Sokka could see the drawings, sketches, writings and equations written all over the walls. Everywhere there could be paper, there was paper covered in ink. Even the floor was covered with a thick layer of designs, blueprints and schematics.

Toph carefully shuffled into the room, unable to see the creativity and imagination of the whole scene. "So… republic city smells like three day old dim sum?"

The Mechanist picked his way over to the corner of the room and started drawing on a large section of empty wall. It was some sort of machine that looked like a man standing. It looked insane. "Isn't it magnificent, Sokka? The sheet possibilities that technology and equality can bring?"

"It is," Sokka started and stepped over a dubious looking jug, "But that's not the reason I came. I was sent here because there's a problem at the Northern Air Temple."

"Nonsense, Teo is taking care of the temple. He is perfectly capable," he said, his face pressed close to the paper as he applies another brush stroke.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious, otherwise you'd have heard about it sooner, but there is an issue there that needs immediate assistance. Aang went there to visit, then sent me this letter," Sokka continued through the room, careful not to step on anything that the man deemed important.

"Teo is a grown man, he knows how to take care of himself and our people. We're all quite self-sufficient."

"You aren't listening, something happened and Teo isn't in charge anymore. I don't have the details, but you need to pull yourself together and come back with us!" Toph shouted, obviously tired of standing in the filthy room.

That must have shaken the old man, since he dropped the ink brush and turned to look at his visitors again. "What happened?"

Sokka sighed, "I don't know. We only got word to come get you and bring you back to the temple. I have my truck waiting outside. We'll drive to the airship station and take a ship to the temple. We'll get there in two days, tops."

The man still looked lost, then nodded slowly, as if he was suddenly realizing how insane he must look and what must have happened to make the Avatar's friend fetch him like this.

Either way, it gave him and Toph time to leave the room. "Pack a bag, I don't know how long we'll be. Wash up too."

"This is the genius you all told me about?" Toph whispered once they were back in the hallway.

"Yeah, I guess he was a little more mad than genius. This is just making it so much more surreal," Sokka waited.

Almost an hour later, the Mechanist stepped out of the room, seeming to be more the man he was when Sokka first met him. "I'm ready to go now."

"Good. Let's check you out and we'll be on our way." Sokka put his hand on the Mechanist's shoulder and started down the hallways.

"Excuse me," an authoritative voice sounded behind Sokka. The three turned to see an older man dressed in a white coat. "Mister Teo, are you checking out?"

"Yes doctor, my son needs me at home. I think I've spent quite enough time here." The Mechanist stated, drawing himself up to his full height.

"Ah, of course. Since you are no longer under my care, and I no longer have orders from King Kuei, I can give you this." The doctor reached into his pocket and withdrew a small bottle. The doctor looked right at Sokka and handed him the dark glass. "The King ordered that he was not to have medication to calm his moods until he was finished with those designs."

The Mechanist sneered, "I'm finished working for him. He's kept me away from my son for too long."

"Are we just going to stand here or are we getting this show on the road?" Toph shifted her bare feet on the carpet and sighed.

"Thank you Doctor. We'll be on our way now," Sokka lead the way out of the hospital and to is truck, glad to get away from the Mechanist's room. "Here it is, Trucky the Truck!" he claimed proudly, opening the door of the vehicle for his companions.

"You named it Trucky? I guess this is from the guy that owns a hawk named Hawky." Toph climbed up into the cab.

"It's a fine name, my boy," the Mechanist smiled thinly, squinting in the bright sun.

"Here," Sokka shook out one of the pills into the Mechanist's hand and then passed him a water skin. "Are you going to be okay?"

The Mechanist dutifully swallowed the medication and took a sip of water. "I will be fine, Sokka. I would like to go home now."

Sokka nodded and helped the Mechanist into the truck and went around the other side to get to the driver's seat. It wasn't long before both Toph and the Mechanist fell asleep and Sokka was left alone with his thoughts.

Something was going on. Something big. And the Northern Air Temple was in the middle of it.


	10. The Makeshift Interrogation Room

Zuko was in a meeting with his advisors when Aang's message arrived. His agricultural minister was livid at the idea of his farming reports interrupted by the Fire Lord reading his mail. Zuko didn't care about angering the man as he dismissed his entire staff from the room and reread Aang's message.

Azula was alive and in the Earth Kingdom.

He called for his personal airship to be readied and practically ran out of the throne room to his study. He wrote a quick message to his mother and another to his council members.

"What's so important that you need to leave the country right this minute?" Suki stepped into his office and sat down in the chair opposite his desk.

"Aang found Azula, but she got away. Her last known whereabouts are the Northern Air Temple. This is the closest we've been to finding her in three years."

"I don't want to be pessimistic here, Zuko, but… she already escaped Aang and Katara," Suki leaned forward, "I'm sure that Aang has it all under control. You don't need to stop everything and go there."

His hopes fell, Suki's realism managed to get through his excitement. "I should try though. It's my fault she escaped. I'm the one that let her out of the asylum. And I would never forgive myself if someone else got hurt trying to bring her in."

"If that's how you really feel, then we're bringing Ty Lee along too. Spirits, I'd call Mai as well if you two were on speaking terms." Suki stood, straightening out her armor. "What are you going to do if you actually find her?"

He opened his mouth then shut it, considering the question carefully. "I don't know. I guess I just need to talk to her."

He didn't meet Suki's eyes as she watched him fidget. For some reason, his bodyguard always knew how to make him feel like a nervous teenager.

"I'll make sure Ty Lee is ready," she said and left his office.

He sunk back into his chair, slumping down until he could just barely see the top of his massive desk. What in Agni's name was he going to do with Azula? He wracked his brain to try to think of why she would be all the way at the Northern Air Temple. Though he supposed it was far enough away from the Fire Nation, but there were people living there? Surely they would know of the princess.

"All this speculation is pointless. You need answers. So get up. Get a bag packed and get on that airship." He stood up, nearly knocking the high backed chair over in the process and went to do just that.

After an agonizing three-day airship ride to Northern Temple, Zuko was back on solid ground. Ty Lee and Suki flanked him, in their Kyoshi Warrior armor and makeup, as he approached the temple's bridge with a confidence he did not feel.

"Zuko!"

Upon hearing his name, Zuko looked up to see Aang circling above on his glider. Strangely enough, the sky was empty. Wasn't this the place where the civilians used gliders to get around?

"Aang. Good to see you. Well, not really, but… you know what I mean," Zuko stumbled, grateful that this wasn't a public event. "What's going on?"

"Azula was living here. Teo helped her escape when Katara and I recognized her. Teo is in… custody until you and the Earth Kingdom representatives decide if assisting her is enough of a crime to be locked up." Zuko could tell that Aang was not happy about any of this, but he put on his serious face so as not to start more conflict.

"I'd like to talk to him."

Aang nodded and turned, walking over the bridge to the temple. "He's in the workshop right now with Toph. Sokka and the Mechanist are trying to sort through some other matters and… well… I've been avoiding talking to my Acolyte."

"And here I thought you left Republic City to take a vacation," Zuko forced a smile and got a weak laugh out of the Avatar.

"I know. I'm going to need a vacation from my vacation." The two laughed again and Aang led Zuko through the temple and to the massive doors that used to be the inner sanctuary. They were propped open, revealing the strange and wondrous inventions that the Mechanist and Teo had come up with.

Zuko stepped into the workshop and watched from a distance as a young man placed his fingers on a metal pipe and Toph bent the pipe to the exact degree.

"Perfect, Toph. You don't know how much time you've saved me," he said, arranging the bent metal on the workbench in front of them.

"Just doing my job to show off the fact that I'm the best metalbender in the entire world!" Toph jumped up on the table and posed as if she just won the Earth Rumble.

Teo laughed. "Yeah well, if you get bored of teaching, I'm sure I can put you to work here." His expression soured and he frowned, sighing as he arranged the pieces again on the table.

"Teo," Zuko started, feeling silly that he hadn't recognized the name before. Teo had been with them at the Western Air Temple.

Teo looked up at the sound of his name and pulled the green-tinted goggles off his face. "Fire Lord Zuko."

"I'd like a moment alone, Toph." Zuko turned to Suki and Ty Lee, who had been silent the whole time. "You two can go as well."

Once everyone had left, Zuko approached the table and looked at what was laid out there. Even up close it still looked like bent pipe. Though he had never been very mechanically inclined, he left that to his engineers.

"I don't know where she went."

Zuko looked up to see Teo looking right at him. The Fire Lord suddenly felt self-conscious. "I know. Was she… was she okay?" Zuko almost tripped over his robe sitting on the stool Toph vacated earlier.

"It depends. Is she healthy? Sure. She seemed well fed and strong. Is she crazy? Yes. She struggled with herself while she was here." Teo looked down, rubbing his thumb over one of the lenses of his goggles.

"Do you know what she was struggling with?" Zuko could only guess why Azula had opened up to Teo. They seemed like complete opposites. Teo wasn't even like Mai or Ty Lee enough to seem to catch the princess's attention.

"She thought I was going to kill her at one point. Then I believe it was mostly paranoia about being caught. If she would have listened to me, she probably would have never left."

Zuko chewed on his lip. "Why do you say that?"

"Because she generally got along with everyone and we were far enough away from anyone else for her to be recognized by anyone else." Teo shrugged and leaned forward so both his elbows were on the bench.

Zuko watched him and nodded, struggling for something to say. He found that now he was face to face with Teo, he didn't have too many questions. He picked up a random tool and turned it over in his hands.

Teo sat up and watched him. "Do you know how to weld?"

"Oh. No, I've never tried it before." He put the tool down and looked around again.

Teo put his goggles back on and held two pieces of pipe together at right angles. "Give me a small, but hot flame right where these two pieces meet."

Zuko rolled up his sleeves and concentrated the hottest flame he could manage at his fingertips and touched the metal at the join. Teo touched a spool of what looked like wire to the hot metal and it melted. "Keep going, you're doing alright."

For hours it seemed, Zuko and Teo worked silently, creating something out of the pipes where just a mess seemed earlier. Maybe that's why Teo gravitated towards his sister; Teo saw the organization in the mess that most others see.

"Okay, that's enough for now. Let's see how sturdy it is." Teo grabbed the metal frame they finished assembling and lifted it up over his head.

Zuko watched him throw it across the room and crash into the wall. "What did you do that for?"

"I told you, to see how sturdy it is. Do you mind bringing it back? I'm stuck." Teo gestured to his legs, still hanging rather uselessly off the ground.

The Fire Lord felt like he was back at the Jasmine Dragon, waiting tables for tips and taking orders from customers. He picked up the metal frame and checked it over. "It's a little scuffed up, but still intact."

"Bring it over here again. I promise not to throw it again."

Intrigued by the project still, Zuko set the frame back on the table, still trying to make sense of what they'd done.

"Hey, you started without me!" Toph huffed and made her way back into the workshop, a bottle in hand.

"Sorry Toph, Zuko volunteered to weld and I couldn't pass up using the Fire Lord for my nefarious scheme," Teo laughed and pulled out the stool beside him so Toph could ear the metal scraping against the floor.

"You should have put Princess Crazy to work then." Toph hopped up on the stool and leaned over on the table.

"I almost did. But she left before I could get back to work." Teo checked over the frame more carefully than Zuko had. "Zuko, can you grab that box behind you?"

"I doubt Azula would settle for manual labor," Zuko picked up the box, wondering if his advisors would have owl-kittens at his actions today.

"She worked in the kitchens. Nobody died." Teo took a file and scraped the metal smooth in some places, then gestured for the box.

"I hear you almost did, Flyboy." Toph took another sip of her bottle. "Sugar Queen was pretty descriptive about that kiss."

"Kiss?" Zuko shifted uncomfortably. He had always assumed Azula was an asexual being, like how most older brothers imagine their younger sisters.

"She distracted me, cut the glider wings and sped off using her firebending." Teo pulled a sturdy rod from the box and handed it to Toph. "I need two pieces of this. One piece should be twice as long as the other."

"So was it hot?" Toph felt out the metal rod with her hands and snapped it where Teo indicated.

"It was… intense, I'll say that." Teo threaded the small rods through holes that had already been cut through the frame. He then fished out two small rubber-treaded wheels from the box and fit them on each end of the small rod.

"It sure sounds like Azula to leave you to die," Zuko muttered, still fascinated by the building process. He had grown up with the idea that all firebending was destructive. And though he'd known that there were firebenders that worked in factories and on ships and construction sites, he never put together the idea that fire can create as well. He now had some ideas for a retraining program for ex soldiers so that they could provide for their families.

Teo pulled out two larger wheels and fastened them down the same way. A padded board came out next and got bolted down. A second one was fastened down perpendicular to the first. It wasn't until Teo set the wheels down on the floor of the workshop that Zuko finally understood what they'd been doing.

"Oh! It's a wheelchair."

"Seriously Sparky? You didn't guess before now?" Toph shook her head.

Teo ignored the metalbender and slid off the stool and used the table to steady himself before he sat in the chair. He put his feet on the footrest and took the wheels in hand.

"I'm not an engineer."

Teo pushed the chair forward and it glided across the floor with a smooth motion.

"You'd make a piss poor earthebender that's for sure. The first thing we learn is how to build."

Teo looked up at Zuko and smiled, "Not bad for your first project. If you ever get tired of being the Fire Lord, I will find some work for you to do around here." His smile faded. "If I'm not arrested."

Zuko sighed, "I wouldn't arrest you, Teo. But I can't say the same for the Earth King. Kuei is still upset over the fact that Azula made him look like an idiot."

"Thanks for your help guys. I'm going to go back to my room and pretend that I'm allowed to leave it." Teo sighed, though he pushed himself to the door.

"That guy is head over ass in love with your sister."

Zuko turned around, startled. "What? How?"

Toph shrugged. "Got me. I just calls 'em as I sees 'em."

"But you don't see anything."

"Don't I?" Toph grinned and elbowed Zuko in the side as she caught up with Teo.

Zuko thought about Azula again, trying to think of her as a woman instead of a monster. He felt a little too weirded out by that and left the workshop as well.


	11. The Farmer's Road

_For those who have been asking... here's Azula!_

* * *

><p>Azula ran for three days before realizing that she would be recognized anywhere she went. Especially since the Avatar and that waterbending bitch were on her trail. She sat down on a fallen log and tried to clear her mind.<p>

It was a difficult task now that Ursa kept glaring at her. At least she stopped yelling. Azula was unconcerned. Teo could handle himself he was a smart man.

"If you do not care about him, why did you kiss him?"

"For the surprise and distraction. And if the Avatar didn't save him from falling to his death, then the Avatar is the worst airbender that ever existed and a terrible person at that. Now please be quiet or think of a way to get as far away from here as possible?" Azula paced, trying to think through the fog in her brain.

The temple was Northwest of her current position, so Ba Sing Se is East. The colonies were Southwest. Neither were good choices. She started walking away from the sun. Ba Sing Se was large enough she could hide there for a time. At least until Zuko and the Avatar got bored of looking for her again.

"You will be recognized." Ursa's voice cut through Azula's mental calculations. If the search for her was still on, then it was a good possibility that her picture would be circulated throughout the Earth Kingdom.

Azula kept silent as she followed the ancient trail from the air temple to a more civilized cluster of villages. Once the land flattened out, the road traffic would pick up, and she might be able to get herself a ride to Ba Sing Se. But she can't shake the thought that someone will recognize her.

She took a detour into the forest and picked up a heavy rock on her way. She found an intersection of two dirt roads that seemed to be traveled recently. She watched the road traffic for the rest of the day and the day after and noticed that an ostrich-horse drawn wagon passed by both evenings. It was a terrible plan, but she felt confident in her abilities.

On the third day, with less than an hour before the wagon passed, she readied herself. She took the rock she picked up from the road and held it in her hand. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she smashed herself in the face.

Her vision swam and Ursa screeched, but she did it again and again until she could feel her eyes swell shut and the uncomfortable sensation of having a broken nose. She quickly tore her dress at the collar and the hem of the skirt and put her rock to use creating bruises all over her legs. She took the knife from the kitchen and slashed the inside of her thigh, causing blood to run down her leg. She could already hear the wagon approaching. She tore off her undergarment and tossed it away. It would have to be enough. She drug her knife in the dirt and crawled through the brush to lay in the tree line near the road.

"Help me!" she pulled herself up out of the dirt to squint through her now-swollen eyes at the man that drove the wagon.

The farmer stopped his horses and looked around. "Who's there?"

"Help me, please!" Azula cried, pulling herself free from a thorn bush. She forced a sob and scrambled towards the wagon. "I-I was on my w-way h-home to B-ba Sing Se wh-when I was set upon by thieves." She wrapped an arm around her breast to try to cover her torn dress.

"Why were you out here then, Miss?" The farmer was wary. But Azula was prepared.

"My… my mother's family were from this area. D-during the war, their t-town flooded. I was hop-hoping that I could find some relatives to take me in b-but they're all g-gone."

"This whole valley here was flooded out some twenty years ago. No one's come back." The farmer hesitated then reached down to help Azula stand.

"I turned b-back and… they t-took everything I had." She leaned against the farmer and tried to sniffle, which sent blood and mucous flowing down her throat. She felt like vomiting.

"There, there, Miss. I'm sure it'll be alright. My farm isn't too far from here. My wife won't mind if you stay with us for the night. My name is Harin. What is yours?"

"Lin. Thank you so much for your kindness." Azula limped along beside the old farmer and let him help her up onto the seat of the wagon and they started off together.

"Lin, if you don't mind me asking, are you from the colonies?"

"N-no." She kept her gaze on the slowly passing ground. "My mother was raped by a Fire Nation soldier. Unfortunately, I take after him too much." She felt like she was choking on the pitiful life of 'Lin' the pitiful peasant. But Harin was buying her story. She relaxed slightly, letting Ursa keep an eye on the old man. She was exhausted, hungry and her face hurt.

"You never do things half way, do you?" Ursa chided. Azula didn't bother to answer her.

Once they arrived at Harin's farm, he helped Azula down from the wagon and helped her into the house. "Ju? Ju are you here? We have a guest!"

An older woman emerged from another room. "Harin! You better have a good explanation for this!"

"I found her on the side of the road. Been roughed up by thieves. She says her folk come from the flooded areas." Harin helped Azula sit down on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Those villages are still flooded. Those damn earthbenders. Think they know everything about how the land goes. Turns out you can't take down a dam if there's people living below the water." Ju rambled on, fussing around the kitchen before hovering over Azula.

Azula remained quiet. She could barely see, but she could tell that she was alone with the old woman.

"I can bandage you up, girl. You should stay here till the swelling goes down. Where did you say you were headed?"

"I was going back to my aunt in Ba Sing Se." She tried not to flinch as Ju cleaned her cuts with whatever alcohol she had on hand.

"Such a terrible place, but I suppose if that's where your only family is. Our son was killed in the war. Didn't even get to the fighting. He died in a training accident, my Liu did." Ju bandaged Azula's head. "Now this is gonna hurt some. Your nose is broken." Ju grabbed either side of Azula's face and squeezed, popping her nose back into place.

Azula cried out, the pain was worse than it was when she broke it. "T-than y-you." She tried to breathe slowly through her mouth until the pain subsided.

"Here. Drink on this." Ju set the bottle of alcohol in front of her.

Azula picked up the bottle and took a pull. Homemade spirits! It tasted awful, but it had a pleasant burn.

"Good girly. Let's get you washed up."

The longer Azula stayed with Harin and Ju the more she wished to leave. Though they were nice enough, neither of them had anything good to say about benders of any kind. They blamed firebenders for the war, earthbenders for ruining the land, airbenders for dying and waterbenders for being snobs. Azula didn't think that even she had that much hate.

But the old couple did feed her and clothe her for three days, until she could see again. Since they believed benders attacked her, they were more than willing to give her some of their son's old clothes, mend her dress and part with some extra food for her journey.

Traveling from village to village was not so bad. At first, no one wanted to look at her. A man with bruises was a person to look at, but a woman with bruises was swept under the rug, ignored and forgotten in the smaller villages. Her days went by in a blur as she looked over her shoulder. No bounty hunters yet.

"Something doesn't seem right." She breathed as she came upon another nameless farming village. She looked through the bag Ju gave her to find that she was out of coins. She thought back to what she'd told Teo as she stood in front of the village's small tavern. Could she really be a whore?

"Azula don't even consider it!" Ursa fumed, stomping her delicate feet in the muddy street.

"I don't see any way for you to make any money." Azula ignored her mother and veered away from the tavern, walking along to the small market. There had to be something she could do. She was tired from walking and pretending for a man was the last thing she wanted to do.

She stood in front of a small apothecary. She fished the vial of opium she stole from Teo from her bag and stepped inside. The place was filthy. Several disgusting peasants sat in chairs, waiting to see the pharmacist. No one tended the shelves, and Azula saw a small boy slip some crystal candy into his pocket.

A frazzled woman emerged from the back of the shop and rushed around the waiting room. She stopped when she came to Azula and frowned. "New patient?"

"No. I was hoping to exchange this for some coin." She held up the drug.

"Oh my. I'm afraid I don't have what that is worth." The older woman frowned, then her head snapped over to the thieving child. "You put that back young man or so help me!"

The boy dropped his pilfered candy and ran out of the store.

"I'm sorry miss, I just don't have the use for it, nor the money to give you a fair price."

Azula expected resistance. She called forth tears and made herself cry. "I was robbed and beaten on the road. They took all I had except for this. I need to get to Ba Sing Se!"

"Oh… I'm so sorry sweetie," the older woman patted Azula's arm. "I'm just so busy… look, if you're not in such a hurry… I need a shop girl to fill in. My regular girl is visiting her sister, who just had a new baby. I can't pay you much, but you'll have room and board and a bit of coin to continue with your travels."

Azula considered this and nodded. It was a much better offer than the tavern. And she could sell the drug once she got to Ba Sing Se. "Yes, thank you." Azula bowed humbly to the woman. "Thank you so much."

"What's your name, sweetie?"

"My name is Di." Azula straightened.

"All right, Di. You can call me Madam Tin."

Azula ignored Ursa's voice in the back of her head. She did not want to hear the woman gloat over her supposed victory. She listened to instructions and immediately took over the details of running the shop. By the end of the day, she collapsed in the small room above the shop. She was too tired to sleep. Too much had happened in such a short period of time. When had she ever thought she'd do peasant's work for a pittance of coin and bread?

"Is this what ZuZu felt like? Living in that hovel of a tea shop when he was exiled?" She turned to see if Ursa was still there but the apparition finally went off to wherever it was they lived when they weren't bothering the princess.

Her mind wandered back to the temple, to Teo. Surely they were still looking for her. They must have had their hands full with the mess she left behind. Hopefully the mess she left wasn't Teo's body at he bottom of the mountain. Her gut clenched slightly at the thought of him dead. Why?

Because he tried to help her instead of attacking her.


	12. The Contested Ground

Hei-Won hummed to herself as she walked the near-empty halls of the temple. It was far too early in the morning for most of the population to be awake. The kitchen staff had banned her, and she was told in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to see Teo. Not that she needed to see him, he did not fall for her seduction techniques like all the other men she's used. She had been thrown by Princess Azula's presence; her entire plan needed restructured, which is why she gambled with bringing Aang to the temple.

She was alone in the mailroom, composing her message carefully. Soon Teo would be out of the picture and all she would need is to get her cousin, Ii, who works at the front desk at the Serenity Stone Hospital, to make the Mechanist's fragile mental state public, then the temple's so-called "council" will lose all its strength. She was sure that without the geniuses, the case to keep the temple in the refugees' control is a weak one.

The acolyte finished her letter and picked up her personal messenger hawk off its perch. "You need to find Oba, my little darling." She stroked the bird's feathers and tied the message to its leg. Soon the Earth Kingdom diplomats will be informed of the latest developments. Councilman Oba would be able to get some reinforcements from the fledgling army base on the border of Air Nomad territory and the Earth Kingdom. To think that Princess Azula just flew past them without their knowledge; well, that was just more incentive to go after the most wanted war criminal in the Earth Kingdom.

All she had to do was avoid Aang a little longer. She couldn't lie to him if he never asked her any questions.

* * *

><p>Teo felt awful. It wasn't even the guilt he felt for letting his people down; he set that particular bat-elephant aside until he physically felt better. His whole body ached and he felt chilled and he was sure he had a fever. He wasn't sure what happened to the rest of his opium, but it was gone now and he knew that his symptoms came from withdrawal. In the back of his mind, he felt he should be embarrassed; nineteen years old and he was curled up in his father's lap like a small child. If only he could travel back in time to prevent his father from leaving last year.<p>

"I'm sure everything will work out, son. It always does." He closed his eyes, focusing on his father's presence.

"Not this time. Where… where will we go?" He gripped his blanket tighter, trying to fend off the imagined cold.

"Aang will not let us be turned out into the cold. He gave us his blessing to live here years ago. You know that. Who would challenge the Avatar?"

The Earth King, various different anti-peace rebel groups, the possibilities all flashed before his eyes. "Are you… disappointed in me?" He turned to look up at his father.

"Now why would you ask such a silly question as that?" The older man smiled, his intelligent eyes were clear and lucid.

Teo thought it might be better if he were. "Because I helped Azula. I put our people in danger by keeping her secret. I helped her escape capture and almost died."

His father helped him sit up and a wave of dizziness swept through him. "Dad careful…" He warned, threatening to be sick. The moment passed and his father's arm held him steadily.

"Teo, you helped someone that needed help, despite her past deeds. And you were willing to do so even though your friends didn't think she deserved it. I'm proud of you. And your friends will be too once they realize they were being unreasonable. Has Aang come to talk to you yet?"

"No," Teo sighed, resting his throbbing head against his father's shoulder. "Toph's been in and out. Katara spoke with me a little the first day. Zuko even helped me in the workshop. He just wanted to know if Azula was okay. But not Aang or Sokka. Not since they got here." Aang's absence hurt the worst; he finally visited the temple after five years and only because Hei-Won wrote to him. Things must be worse than he thought; maybe Aang was backing the acolyte's actions? Subtly trying to get them to move so he can keep the temples for him slowly rebuilding nation.

"He is probably feeling too conflicted. Or it just didn't occur to him. Are you hungry at all? I think I can probably get some leftovers from tonight's supper for you?"

"No thanks. I think I'll just go back to sleep." Teo managed a smile at his father and arranged himself back into bed. The chronic pain that plagued him his whole life hit him hard as soon as he'd run out of the strong medication that usually helped him. He was about to close his eyes when there was a commotion outside.

"Hey! What the heck is going on?!" Toph's outrage and the sound of stone being bent echoed into the room.

The Mechanist backed up, his hand going to the knife he kept tucked into his vest. There were more indistinct voices, but the door was opened carefully.

Aang stepped in the room first, his face solemn. "Teo, these men came with King Kuei's diplomats. They… have an official warrant for your arrest."

"What? This is preposterous! My son did nothing wrong!"

The soldier with the most tassels on his uniform stepped forward and presented a scroll to the Mechanist. Teo felt his stomach drop. He thought he'd have more time before this moment.

The four soldiers stepped past the shocked inventor and seized Teo out of bed, not even giving him the dignity of leaving under his own power.

"Commander Bao, is this really necessary?" Aang pleaded, though he kept his face neutral.

"Aiding the escape of the most wanted criminal in the country is a criminal act. No exceptions for the Avatar's friends. No exceptions for the health of the prisoner either." The commander gestured and the soldiers drug Teo away.

And for a second time, he was paraded in front of his friends and family as a criminal, though this time, he was taken to an Earth Kingdom branded airship.

* * *

><p>Aang was able to send Toph with the soldiers and Teo, but that did little to make him feel good about the arrangement. His day was far from over; he now has to calm the Mechanist down, and talk to Hei-Won and of course, the Earth King's negotiations over the land that belongs to his people.<p>

"Mechanist, please, I will get him back. I will fix this. I'm so sorry you've all had to deal with this." Though he had to wonder why no one contacted him about this before.

"Yes, Aang, you will sort this out. You will tell the Earth King that he cannot scavenge this place for his own greed. You will also keep your acolytes away." The Mechanist stepped forward, jabbing Aang in the chest with his finger. "You told us that you were fine with us living here. I didn't think I needed to get such sentiments in writing! You have three other temples to inhabit and I helped you design another!"

"I promise, no one will have to leave and Teo will be back before you know it." Though Aang felt uneasy about the whole situation; something felt off but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He found himself wandering the temple, cataloguing the changes in architecture and feel. Even at night, the temple felt more vibrant and alive now than it did when just monks inhabited it. Families lived here, and they loved and worked and died together. Could he really force them all to find new homes? They hadn't been here as long as the oldest Fire Nation colonies, just a mere twenty years. One generation at the most.

Then, Aang caught the flutter of orange robes and he resolved to solve at least one of the nagging questions on his mind. "Hei-Won! Wait!"

The acolyte turned and smiled. "Yes Avatar Aang?"

"I'd like to know why you wanted to live here, yet disagree with all of the changes that have been made to the temple structure?"

"Because someone has to fight to preserve our culture, Avatar. If these people wish to live on Air Nomad land, shouldn't they adapt to our customs rather than destroy the architecture, artwork and landscape?" Her tone was even and controlled, but just reverent to be called respectful.

"I'm the only person that can say what is and what is not Air Nomad culture. And how can we, as a people of peace, force people from their homes? This temple provided them shelter and protection from the Fire Nation during the war. It's not like they have anywhere else to go. So many villages were destroyed during that time." He held his staff lightly as they walked past the bathhouse, which Aang had yet to see since he arrived.

"But Aang, you weren't around to advise them not to destroy priceless relics." She kept her hands folded politely inside her robes. If it weren't for her Earth Kingdom style braid and her Ba Sing Se accent, Aang might have mistaken Hei-Won for an Air Nomad nun.

"No, but neither were you. The Mechanist and Teo have done well here, making this temple a thriving community of peaceful people."

"Peaceful people that design weapons of war. I know the Mechanist's history. You saw the weapon that Teo nearly killed Appa and Katara with. These are not peaceful people."

"Weapons do not kill people, Hei-Won, people kill people."

"If you say so, Avatar. If you say so. I will be retiring now," she bowed and left him alone in the hallway.

He was even more confused than before. Is she right? Should he have come here straight after the war and told the Mechanist to change everything back? Could he really look Teo in the eye and tell him that the steam lifts had to go, which would lock him off every level of the temple except the first floor.

"Aang? Are you okay?"

He sighed and turned towards Katara. "No. Is Zuko still here?"

"No, he left yesterday once he was sure Azula hadn't hurt anyone." Katara wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"I sent Toph with Teo. I don't know what to do, Katara. Hei-Won is dead set against the modernization. It would take years and a lot of money to restore the temple back. And I'm sure that the Mechanist would not lift a finger to help." He sighed, hoping that Katara had the answers he sought.

"Why bother then? Let them have the temple." She smiled at him a little, probably to soften the blow of her disagreeing with him.

"I… I want to. I do but…" He looked down, ashamed of his own selfishness. "I still want everything to be the same."

"Aang, that's silly. Everything changes eventually." She guided him towards the room they were staying in.

"I know. I know! There has to be a decision. But hopefully we can stall these negotiations enough to get Teo out of jail. That's what's worrying me the most." He snaked his arm around Katara's waist.

"I know. I'm afraid that they're going to keep in jail even though he told us all he knew." Once inside their room, Katara sat down on the simple bed and pulled him down beside her.

He smiled a little and let her pull him down. He flopped down on the bed behind her and looked up at her profile. Then he remembered what they were talking about. "I know. Hopefully Toph could prevent anything terrible from happening to Teo.

* * *

><p>Toph was furious. She had one task! One badger-dung task and she blew it! Keeping track of Teo while he was asleep was hard enough, but in that airship where the prison cell was so close to the loud thrumming engines somehow the soldiers had managed to swap Teo for someone else. He has to be on the ship still. Where else would they take him than Ba Sing Se?<p> 


	13. The Walled City

Azula stayed with Madam Tin for three days, collected the meager amount of coins she'd earned doing peasant work and left without saying goodbye. Her face was healing and she knew she would have to do something else quickly. She travelled the road for most of day and stopped to make camp next to a large pond with clear water. It looked like a well-used campsite since there was a recently used fire pit and the logs beside the pond were arranged neatly. Unlike the mountains she'd left behind, this part of the Earth Kingdom was flat and she would be able to see anyone coming a long way off.

"No more pain, Azula," Ursa urged. She had been unusually quiet for the last few days. Perhaps her mother knew not to interfere with Azula's survival.

"No more pain, Mother. I know that you cannot take it. No, this will be much simpler. Silly really. But most city guards are bored and lazy, so I believe it will work." The princess found a flat stone and sharpened the kitchen knife she had kept with her since leaving the temple. Once she felt the blade was sharp enough, she pulled a handful of hair away from her head and swiped the knife through her long locks.

"But your hair!" Ursa protested again.

"Will you never be satisfied?!" Azula grit her teeth and kept on cutting, she cut until she had a large pile of hair at her feet and her haircut resembled the awful mop that Zuko sported while he was in exile. She used the pond's reflection in the dying sunlight to even up the sides.

She then stripped off the worn dress and put on the tunic and pants she had obtained from Ju and Harin. The skirt was torn into strips and she used the long pieces to bind her breasts flat. Once she finished, she looked at her reflection in the pond. "I look like Zuko, but less hideous."

"Do you think it will work?" Ursa's image wavered in the still water, her concerned face appearing just over Azula's shoulder.

"It will work enough to get into the city." Azula sat back down and looked at the pile of hair. She started to braid the long strands into a thin chord, figuring that at least it would be more useful in this form than it was on her head. "Once I get to Ba Sing Se…" she stopped and frowned. What was she going to do once she reached Ba Sing Se? The uncertainty made her stomach turn. She had never been without a long-term plan for this long.

Toph had no idea what to do now. The airship captain and those goons had tried to pass off another man as Teo. They had underestimated her; she could tell the man that slept in the cell had a different bone structure and build. She had to stay calm though, she was in Ba Sing Se alone and if Teo was in trouble (and he probably was), she didn't have the time to waste going back for help.

The metalbender set off for the upper ring and the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh would know what to do.

The next lone traveller Azula passed was unfortunate enough to get his cart stolen. Azula put on the ridiculous straw hat the peasant was wearing and she urged the old ostrich-horse onward. Her journey was much easier from that point onward. She reached the outer wall at nightfall and was directed to wait until those that had travel papers were through the line. She stayed with her ostrich-horse and waited until dark, then picked up her bag and wandered through the shantytown that was set up on this side of the wall. Azula had never seen so many people waiting to enter a city before and started listening to the conversations around her.

"… hear that the city is under lockdown."

"Well my cousin is a guard and…"

"No one is allowed in or out."

"…King Kuei left three days ago for some emergency. Saw his personal airship myself!"

So the Earth King was gone? That was strange, especially if the city were in crisis. Now she had to get inside that wall.

"Hey, man." A scrawny young man about her age came up to her. His cheeks streaked with war paint and his reddish hair stuck every which way. A taller man, his head covered in the same conical straw hat that Azula wore, stood stoically beside the redhead.

"Yeah?" Azula drawled in the country dialect that was popular in the Northeastern region of the Earth Kingdom.

"You need to get in?"

"Why else would I be waiting out here?" Azula looked at the silent man, eyeing the bow and quiver of arrows on his back.

"We can get you in. For a price." Warpaint whispered, walking the disguised princess away from the others, towards the wall that was built around the drill. Even after five years they still had not cleared that relic away.

"I don't have much. Just a few coin and this." Azula pulled out the vial of opium.

"Whoa, yeah we can move that. Come with me. You'll give it to our man inside, alright?" Azula could see the man's eyes light up at the price the drug could get him and his friend. She wondered where Teo had gotten his supply, but shook that thought away. She had already left him behind. Whatever happened to him was of no concern to her.

The two men lead her to the drill-wall where a third man crouched low in the shadows. He had the build of an earthbender, muscled and thick, his weight evenly distributed on his bare feet. The only remarkable thing about him was the hideous mustache that grew on his upper lip.

"Alright, we got a customer. You stand here… and our friend here will get you up to the wall. There's a hatch in the drill. Drop down into it and our guy will collect payment and show you out." Warpaint nodded to the earthbender and Azula was swiftly propelled on top of a rock up to the top of the wall. She rolled off the rock and onto the top of the wall when the rock reached even. There were hardly any guards patrolling this area. It was as if they had just forgotten this part of the city. Then again, she'd still have to cross through miles and miles of the farmland before reaching the lower ring.

She felt a little nostalgic walking through the old drill, not that she wanted to remember her first real failure.

"Hey." A teenager wearing an oversized helmet stopped her progress. "Most of the city guards are protecting the upper ring tonight, so we can get more people in than usual.

"What's going on in there?" Azula asked, holding out the 'payment' for the kid, but not letting it go just yet.

"Are you serious? The high taxes, the riots, the closing of the clinics and hospitals in the lower and middle rings… the government is running out of money and they took it out on the poor. They're blaming it on the loss of the Republic lands but we all know that they've wasted all the tax money on themselves."

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place; the temple lands were full of natural resources such as coal and gas, but the Earth King couldn't seize the land because of the temple. At least it wasn't just the Fire Nation that suffered economic problems at the end of the war.

"I see. Interesting times." She smiled at the teenager and handed him the vial before slipping out the hole in the wall.

Toph reached the Jasmine Dragon just before the curfew. She tried the door, but it was already locked. She could not feel the usual vibrations of the city. Everything was too still. It felt dead. "Iroh! Iroh let me in!"

The door opened and she nearly fell inside. "Toph! How lovely to see you. What brings you here?" Toph could hear the door locking behind her.

"Trouble. Something weird is happening at the Northern Air Temple and I think it's related to all the weirdness happening here." Toph sat down in the nearest chair.

"These are troubling times indeed." Iroh took the chair across from her as she explained as much of the situation as she could keep track of.

"So without strong leadership the temple dwellers will be at the Earth King's mercy. And Teo was arrested? I suppose that makes sense, but why hide him from you?"

"I don't know. That's the troubling part. Iroh, I think we need to get a message out to Aang."

Azula walked through the empty city streets, her battle instincts kept her focused. She quickly ducked down a dark alley to avoid a group of soldiers marching in formation down the empty street. She stayed as still as she could, finding this whole situation very strange indeed. That's when she saw a familiar face. The man leading the unit was one of her Dai Li agents! Once the street patrol passed, she quickly climbs up the side of the building and lay flat on the roof. She watched the street patrols pass by, mentally keeping track of their movements and making a mental map and plan to get from her current position to a safer place.

On a silent count of three, she started off running, jumping from building to building until she came to the end of the block. She crouched low on the edge of the roof and held her breath as another patrol went past. As soon as they turned the corner, she used her firebending to dim the street lamps and made the jump to the ground. The Fire Princess knew how to roll on impact and was soon up and running again to avoid the next patrol.

She was further into the city, but she still didn't have anywhere to go. With the curfew in effect all taverns and inns were closed.

"Azula, what do you plan to do? We don't know anyone here!"

She ignored her mother again, not finding her the least bit helpful. She looked around for the telltale signs of a flophouse, but instead she saw a small, but ragged Terran Temple.

The Earth Kingdom had mostly given up organized religion, but certain parts of the massive nation were still practicing the so-called "old ways". If she recalled correctly, the little stone and mud temples were still protected under law; they would not be able to turn her away, even after the curfew.

"Welcome to the Temple of Eternal Stone, sir, please make yourself at home while the curfew is in effect." The old monk sat near the door managing to look both serene and annoyed at the same time. Azula could only wish to make that particular face; it was perfect.

Inside the small temple, she saw several men and women stranded and waiting for the curfew to be lifted so that they could go home. Azula found herself in a small corner, where she could keep an eye on the door. It wasn't too much longer that she drifted into sleep as soon as she lay down. The cold stone and hard floor reminds her of the asylum, but she suppresses those thoughts and lets her mind wander to the present.

Azula closed her eyes and saw Teo. She saw him smile down at her from his glider. He even took his hands off the controls to wait for her. "Azula… "

Her dream self picked up her hand and waved it a little, then watched in horror as Teo's glider started to rip, fall apart and then break. She watched Teo plummet to his death, leaving nothing but some shattered garbage and a bloody mess.

She sat up straight, running her fingers through her short, mannish hair.

"I'm going to send you back to wherever you came from. I'm… sure that's an option." The illusion of Kuei haunted her; he carried a torch and a knife in each hand. Azula knew it was only an illusion but it felt so real. Even mores than the ghost of her mother.

Azula frowned. She was going to have to do something about these thoughts.


	14. The Old Prison

In his dreams he was flying. Always. There was not one instance he can name when his dream self has his feet on the ground. The dream that causes him to wake gasping for air includes the Fire Princess and an unfortunate meeting with the ground. Pain shot up his side as he rolled and realized he was lying on a rough wooden floor. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and immediately regretted it, his head was too fuzzy and the darkness in the room seemed to spin around him.

"It is about time you woke up."

Teo squinted through the darkness and saw an Earth Kingdom soldier standing on the other side of a set of thick metal bars. It was then that Teo realized he was in a cell and that he could no longer hear the comforting thrum of the airship engines. "Where am I?"

"Someplace out of the way. Don't worry, your trial will happen as soon as the Earth King gets back." The guard laughed and walked away.

Something wasn't right. There was a piece to the puzzle that he was missing. Why arrest him? Why bother throwing him in jail? Most people write him off as "just a cripple" and talk down to or over him. He sighed, looking down at his clothes; someone had stripped him of his usual clothes and dressed him in the green uniform of the prison system, likely to make sure that he was not carrying anything.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps along the wooden floorboards outside his cell. The man was dressed as a general with the long cape of a field commander, his long beard streaked with gray. He looked down at Teo with a look of disdain. The general stood straight with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Do you know the current whereabouts of Princess Azula?"

"No. She did not tell me where she intended to go." He tried to keep his voice even as he answered the question everyone else had asked.

"Did she inform you of her current plans?" The general's tone was just as bored as Teo's.

"Lay low and not get caught. Anything other than that she did not tell me." There was no point in lying now. They were already convinced of his guilt and probably had already figured out his punishment.

"Why did you help Princess Azula escape the Avatar?" The general kept his gaze locked on Teo.

Teo did not back down, he knew that it was futile, but lying about it would do him no good. Even though he could have just said Azula forced him to do it. "Because I felt she was being treated unfairly."

"Do you understand that she is the most wanted criminal in the Earth Kingdom?" The general seemed to tire of the answers he was given, he stepped closer to the bars and loomed over Teo.

"I am aware of that, yes." Sitting in the general's shadow, it was apparent that he was stuck. Trapped until he could think of a way out.

"But you assisted her anyway." The questions got more forceful, the rest of the guards were on edge as well.

"I did, yes." Teo kept his tone even, getting emotional would only make things worse.

"Why?"

"Because she hadn't hurt anyone. She was living peacefully at the temple. She had no reason to hurt anyone until she was attacked first." Part of his brain told him he was stupid for still defending the princess. But he just couldn't blame her for the world's problems. She was just as much of a victim as everyone else was. Children forced to war without understanding what the fight was about in the first place. Sure there were the propaganda lines, but Teo wasn't so naïve to think they were true.

"As an Earth Kingdom citizen, you have failed in your duty to uphold the laws of our great nation. You are being formally charged with treason. Your trial and sentencing will be carried out as soon as King Kuei returns."

Treason.

The word settled in the pit of his stomach. He lay back on the bare wood floor and stared at the dusty ceiling of his cell.

After all he'd done for both his people and that of the Earth Kingdom during the war, this was how it was going to end. It's been a while since he thought about being an Earth Kingdom citizen; the temple was so far removed from the rest of the country. The village he was born in was located in a valley just on the edge of the mountains that were Air Nomad territory. Those that could remember the village remembered it as secluded and self-sufficient so it was no surprise that they hadn't thought about paying taxes and tribute to the Earth King that didn't know their village's name.

He was going to have to think of an escape plan.

* * *

><p>"What does your friend look like?" The grating voice of the receptionist carried over the large wooden desk. Toph was about to open her mouth to make a rude comment when Iroh cut her off with a firm hand to her shoulder.<p>

"He is a young man, brown hair, Earth Kingdom descent, and lame. He would have arrived in the past day or so? His name is Teo." Iroh spoke with his most respectful tone as he tried to pull information out of the woman sitting behind the large desk at the city prison.

"No one fitting that description has been booked. Your friend isn't here. Now stop loitering and go."

This was the third jail they checked and the third one they were thrown out of, and none of the people they spoke to were lying. Of course they could be too low on the chain of command to know, but the fact that they couldn't even find Teo to check on him told her volumes. "Okay Iroh, you know this place better than I do. What's our next step?"

"I suppose I can try one more place, but it is risky." Iroh sounded reluctant, but Toph didn't have time for hesitation. She already felt responsible for losing track of Teo. She didn't want to have to go back to Aang and the others to tell them there wasn't anything else they could do.

"Risky? I like it. So what does it involve? Fighting? I can do that. I need something good to punch."

"No, no, nothing like that. I just need to send a message to a friend."

"Then how long will it take?"

"This is not something we can rush, Toph."

Toph sighed and blew her bangs out of her face. "Alright. I trust you."

* * *

><p>Teo attempted to sleep, but he had a hard time getting comfortable in his cell. He could hear the roach-mice skittering in the darkest corners. He tried not to think of what kind of critters were crawling around in the straw that made up the pallet he lay on. That thought alone made him want to get up, but the pain in his back kept him down. He was going to have to force himself to focus on something else. Like escaping.<p>

But try as he might, he was never going to get out on his own. Maybe he could try something if they ever decided to move him. His walking speed was slower than a snail-sloth; maybe he could escape if all the soldiers suddenly got stuck in one of his father's glue bombs. He laughed bitterly to himself and finally pushed himself up into a sitting position, scooting back until he sat up against the wall. Wood. His cell was made of wood and metal; it was an old cell for earthbenders, before Toph had figured out how to bend metal and began teaching it to others.

His mind drifted to the Toph and the friendship they'd rekindled since she helped bring his father back from the Republic. Their friends teased them about it at the Western Air Temple all those years ago, but it just made them laugh. Toph had been very blunt to tell the others how ignorant they were being by suggesting that she and Teo were "meant for each other" just because they both were physically handicapped. He had laughed a bit too hard at Katara's embarrassment. Since the "handicapped herd", a name Sokka invented and had unfortunately stuck, were reunited they compared notes on the past five years of life. Her metalbending fascinated him and she was eager to help him with building a new chair. Her ease with handling metal gave him so many ideas… ideas that he didn't have the time to work on. But now… now all he had was time to think.

He shivered slightly in the dampness and shifted his weight on the straw pallet. The old floorboards testing the ones near him for the telltale squeak of a loose board. If he could just get to the subfloor… then what? He frowned and kept at his task until he found a loose board. He would just have to think of that once he found out what was underneath the wood. He hoped it was dirt. He hoped that his prison was old enough to have been built before many earthbenders discovered how to bend without touching their element.

* * *

><p>Azula was drifting aimlessly through the bustling crowds of the Lower Ring at midday. She had some coin left, but no plan. She had enough coin for a room for a few days, but without a source of income, she would be in the same situation in the next few days. She stopped in the first tavern she could find and watched the owner hustle about.<p>

"Excuse me," she said, pitching her voice low in her best "Zuko" impersonation. "I'm new in the city and looking for work."

The man looked her over. "Sorry, I don't need any help. Why don't you try down the corner, the Muddy Boot?"

Azula nodded and left without another word and went to find the Muddy Boot. She thought how awful it must be to be so uncreative to name a place of business after a filthy shoe. Then again, this was the Earth Kingdom.

The owner of this establishment was an old man, too poor to retire and hunched with age that gladly paid "Lee" some coin and a room upstairs in exchange for doing all the lifting, cleaning and general grunt work of taking care of the tavern.

It was an uneventful life, but Azula couldn't complain. She had done worse in her time as a fugitive. It was a few days before things got interesting. She was busy carrying barrels from the cart out back to behind the bar. It was difficult, physical work, but that's what she needed after neglecting her training so long.

She had just set the third barrel of so-called wine behind the bar when she caught the familiar face of her Uncle. He sat at the decrepit pai sho table with another old man. They spoke in hushed tones to each other at the darkened table.

"He's going to recognize you!" Ursa shouted in her ear.

The princess checked the exits, no one suspicious stood out as a Fire Nation guard. Iroh must have come here on his own. She decided to risk getting caught and grabbed the broom to start sweeping the filthy floor next to the two geezers.

"I am looking for someone." Iroh said, moving one of the tiles.

"Perhaps I have seen them." The other geezer moved another tile. It was a tactic Azula had studied, intelligence gathering during a "casual" game.

"My friend's son was arrested and brought to the city. But he seems to have vanished since."

Azula's broom stopped mid-sweep. He wasn't looking for her? She resumed her task; any sudden movements would make her look suspicious.

"I see. Sometimes, prisoners just disappear. It is not unheard of, especially here, though in these times of peace," the old man put some emphasis on the word 'peace' and continued, "It has happened less frequently."

"Where would such people be taken?" Iroh moved his jade dragon tile.

"Some say they are taken under the lake."

Azula turned to watch Iroh's expression, which turned from passively interested to disturbed. Something was going on, and she was sure it was more than just the old fool's strange hobbies. When he left the tavern, Azula followed.

She didn't even tell the tavern owner she was leaving.


End file.
